S  OBSERVATION 


AND  EVENTS 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

DAVIS 


FIFTY  YEARS'  OBSERVATION 


OF 


MEN  AND  EVENTS 


CIVIL  AND  MILITARY 


BY 

E.  D.  KEYES 

BVT.  BRIGADIER-GENERAL  U.  S.  ARMY  ; 
LATE  MAJOR-GENERAL  U.  S.  VOLUNTEERS,  COMMANDING  THE   FOURTH   CORPS 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

1885 

LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


.;.-     '.     ..      /    <-><.. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  L 

for  writing  tkfe  book.—  My  fast  TOW  of  Scott 
—Appointment  to  Ids  staff.—  Impressions  on  Scott  doriag  mr  first 
senrket—  My  first  dinner  with  Kim.—  Hb  advice—  Description  of 
Scott—  Anecdo^—  His  mling  passion  ambition.—  Hfe  opinions  of 
various  pttbtic  ineo.—  Washington  CStr  about  i$*x-Genentl  con- 
dWwtof  theco»naT»t  th^uafcc.—  MUitaxj  science  and  its  prqfRS& 

CHAPTER  II. 


Scott  as  a  man  of  galhntiy  *»*  ***  J*53*1  ^  *  feanay.—  Scott  in  t&e 
Mckty  of  Wfes»—  Hb  ^enecal  dteneanor.—  Fond  of  swx*l  vtatingr.  — 
Hi$  cv>nT<*satk«u--Anec<fotes.  —  Hi$  fore  of  attention.—  Views  of 
ovm  vaniase.—  Opinion  of  nanugein  thearay. 

CHAPTER  IIL 


Scott  as  a  xfebur,  and  a  wan  of  it*iwg,~  H»  edncat»Mu—  Rk  stwfies 
of  t&w.—  PttMk  «en  of  ni$  tune.—  H«$  londae^  lor 
of 


CHAPTER 


—  life  vraai*  dtxfcais*  of 

-        ««* 

tf  dMMS*kanwd&~Fondness  fcr  cinss  and  wfcfct, 

CHAPTER  V. 


•v  Contents. 

CHAPTER  VI.  pAGB 

Scott  as  aChristian.-HiS  dislike  for  religious  controversy.  -Expres- 
bnof  religious  belief.-His  manner  of  worship. -Comparison  of 
emLit  preachers  in  French  and  English.-Strength  of  ^Scotf .  con-     ^ 
victions 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Puritanism. -Its  nature,  its  benefits,   and  its  dangers. -A  study  of 
Puritanism.-Its  origin.-The   first   Puritans. -Result  of    Puritan 
instruction.-Puritans  and  Catholics  in  the  conversion  of  the  heathen 
—Puritan  beliefs  concerning  private  judgment.— Character  o 
present  government  derived  from  Puritanism 3 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  evils  of  foreign  immigration.-Scott  opposed  to  foreign  immi- 
gration.-My  study  of   his  opinions.-Overcrowded  population   in 
Europe.-Anecdotes.-Future  of  immigration  in  the  Unite 
Foresight  of  Scott  on  this  question 

CHAPTER  IX. 

A  review  of  the  autobiography  of  General  Scott-Scott's  character  as 
exhibited  in  the  book. -His  comments  on  e vents. -Bur r  s  trial.— 
Wilkinson.-War  with  England. -The  quarrel  with J-^7^ 
dotes  of  Jackson.-Van  Buren's  Administration.-Troubles  m  Can- 
ada.-Anecdotesof  a  journey  with  Scott-Scott  in  ^e  South.-The 
Cherokees.-Scott  as  a  politician.-His  opmionS.-Benton.-  *  ^ 
autobiography  on  the  Mexican  War 

CHAPTER  X. 

Reminiscences  of  events  and  characters  from  the  time  of  my  first  ser- 
vice  with  Scott  till  I  rejoined  his  staff  as  confidential  Military  Secre- 
tary.-Mycaptaincy.-Farewell  dinner  from  Scott. -Life  in  Wash- 
LgL,-Ordered  to  Florida. -W.  T.  Shern^n.-Fort  Lauderdale. 
-George  H.  Thomas.  -  Lieutenant  Wyse,  and  other  officers.  - 
Service  in  Florida.-In  New  Orleans. -General  Gaines. -Compari 
son  of  Scott  and  Gaines. -Ordered  to  Fort  Moultrie.-The  voyage. 
-Purchase  of  a  slave.-The  officers  at  Fort  Moultrie.-Quarrel  with 
Bragg.— Anecdotes  of  other  officers 


Contents* 


CHAPTER  XI. 

PAGE 

From  my  appointment  to  duty  at  West  Point  as  Chief  of  Department 
of  Artillery  and  Cavalry.— The  West  Point  board.— Nominations 
for  the  post.— My  nomination  by  Lee.— The  Military  Academy  and 
its  merits.— Influence  of  Colonel  Thayer.— His  successors.— Dela- 
field,  Cullum,  and  others.— The  class  of  1846.— McClellan,  Foster, 
Reno,  Couch,  Sturgis,  Stoneman,  Palmer.  —  Thomas  J.  Jackson, 
Maxey,  Pickett— Derby  ("John  Phoenix ").— Classes  of  '47  and  '48. 
—Miss  Scott l88 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Generals  Lee  and  Grant.— The  military  career  of  Lee.— His  personal 
appearance.— My  last  sight  of  him.— Scott  on  Lee.— Foreign  opinions 
of  Lee.— Comparison  of  Lee  and  Grant.— First  sight  of  Grant.— 
Grant  in  1880.— His  early  career.— His  civil  life.— His  re-entry  into 
the  army.— Actions  at  Forts  Henry  and  Donaldson.— Trouble  with 
Halleck.— The  army  in  Tennessee  under  Grant.— Comparison  with 
ancient  and  modern  generals.  — E.  B.  Was hburne.— Sherman's  recog 
nition  of  Grant.— Grant  in  the  Wilderness.— Grant  the  ablest  Amer 
ican  General 204 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

My  journey  to  San  Francisco. —Life  in  California. — The  voyage  via 
Cape  Horn. — Delay  at  Panama. — Anecdotes  of  the  journey. — San 
Francisco  in  1849. — The  discovery  of  gold. — San  Francisco  in  early 
days. — Fellow  officers. — Expedition  to  the  San  Joaquin  Indians. — 
Treaty  with  them. — Great  fire  in  San  Francisco. — California  admitted 
to  the  Union. — The  Vigilance  Committee 223 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

Indian  campaigns  on  the  Pacific  Coast. — Expedition  to  Fort  Vancouver. 
— Indian  Fighting. — Return  to  San  Francisco. — Steptoe's  disaster  in 
Washington  Territory. — General  Clark's  move. — At  the  Dalles. — 
The  march  to  Walla  Walla. — Cceur  d'Alene. — More  Indian  Fight 
ing. — Colonel  Wright. — Harney 250 

CHAPTER   XV. 

Return  to  San  Francisco  from  the  Indian  War. — Description  of  society 
and  individuals. — Condition  of  California. — The  Parrotts,  McAllis 
ters,  Thorntons,  Lakes,  Donohues,  McKinstrys,  Gwins,  Bowies,  and 
others. — The  Bar  of  San  Francisco. — Leading  lawyers 290 


vi  Contents. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

PAGE 

General  Scott's  visit  to  the  Pacific  Coast. — His  conduct  and  character  in 
old  age. — His  appearance. — Judge  Ogden  Hoffman. — My  appoint 
ment  as  Military  Secretary. — Scott's  growing  fondness  for  money. — 
His  inactivity. — My  own  state  upon  resuming  service  with  him. — 
Some  general  opinions. — Scott's  feeling  as  to  sectional  politics  — 
Return  to  Washington. — Various  social  events. — Visit  of  the  Prince 
of  Wales. — Affairs  in  the  beginning  of  1860 315 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Events  of  1860  and  '61.-— State  of  the  Union  and  of  parties  in  the 
autumn  of  1860. — Buchanan's  Cabinet. — Election  of  Lincoln. — 
Scott's  suggestion  of  names  for  Lincoln's  Cabinet.— Various  social 
events  in  Washington. — General  Cameron. — The  first  demands  from 
the  South.  —  Hayne's  mission. — Petigrew. — Seward's  speech. — 
Scott's  views  on  the  situation. — Stanton's  appointment  to  office. — 
First  troops  ordered  to  Washington. — Reports  from  various  parts  of 
the  country. — Threats  against  Lincoln. — Scott's  depression 337 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Major  Anderson  and  Forts  Moultrie  and  Sumter. — Description  of 
Anderson. — Anecdotes. — Anderson  ordered  to  relieve  Gardner. — His 
vigilance. — His  masterly  movement  from  Moultrie  to  Sumter. — The 
question  of  reinforcement. — Expedition  of  the  "  Star  of  the  West." 
— She  is  fired  upon. — First  shots  from  Sumter. — Beginning  of  civil 
war 367 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Reinforcements  of  Fort  Pickens. — Captain  Vogdes.  — Gen.  Scott  on  the 
situation  of  Fort  Pickens. — Interview  between  Lincoln  and  Scott. — 
My  interview  with  the  President  and  Mr.  Seward. — The  expedition 
ordered.— Lincoln's  letter  of  authority.— Gen.  Butler. — Close  of  my 
secretaryship. — Service  under  Morgan  of  New  York 375 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Arrival  of  Lincoln  at  Washington. — Caricatures. — Threatening  letters. 
— Dinner  with  Stanton. — The  retiring  President. — The  inauguration 
of  Lincoln. — Visit  to  New  York. — Scott's  letter  to  Texas. — Anec 
dotes  of  Lincoln. — Farewell  speeches  of  Benjamin  and  Davis 410 


Contents.  vii 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

PAGE 

The  War  of  the  Rebellion. —State  of  affairs  at  its  outbreak  .—Letter  to 
the  President.  —  Bull  Run.— The  Peninsula.  —  Letter  to  Senator 
Harris. — Fair  Oaks. — Testimony  concerning  the  battle. — The  field 
revisited.— Conversation  with  President  Lincoln.— Letter  from  Sec 
retary  Chase 429 

APPENDIX  I. 

A  letter  from  Col.  C.  C.  Suydam 491 

APPENDIX  II 
Battle  of  Fair  Oaks.-Report  of  Brig.-Gen.  E.  D.  Keyes,  4th  Corps  . .  500 


FIFTY  YEARS'    OBSERVATION 


OF 


MEN  AND  EVENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Occasion  for  writing  this  book. — My  first  view  of  Scott. — Appointment  to 
his  staff.  — Impressions  on  Scott  during  my  first  service. — My  first  dinner 
with  him. — His  advice. — Description  of  Scott. — Anecdotes. — His  ruling 
passion  ambition. — His  opinions  of  various  public  men. — Washington 
City  about  1840. — General  condition  of  the  country  at  that  time. — 
Military  science  and  its  progress. 

IN  the  month  of  August,  1881,  my  attention  was  called 
to  a  controversy,  then  going  on  in  the  newspapers, 
the  occasion  for  which  was  an  article  from  the  pen  of 
the  Hon.  Jeremiah  S.  Black,  who  was  Attorney -General 
during  the  administration  of  Mr.  Buchanan. 

Mr.  Black  asserted  that  the  failure  to  reinforce  Fort 
Sumter,  Charleston  Harbor,  was  due  to  the  delays  and 
reluctance  of  Lieutenant-General  Winfield  Scott,  who 
was,  at  the  time,  the  commanding  general  of  the  Army. 

The  statement  of  Mr.  Black  was  regarded  by  many  as 


2  Fifty  Years'  Observation 

an  undeserved  accusation,  and  without  foundation  in 
truth. 

My  former  intimate  associations  with  the  general,  and 
my  friendly  feeling  toward  him  and  his  alleged  accuser, 
gave  me  an  especial  interest  in  the  controversy,  and  I 
commenced  a  letter  to  Mr.  Black,  with  a  purpose  to  re 
late  such  facts  and  circumstances  as  I  remembered  in  re 
gard  to  the  question  in  dispute.  The  subject  was  so  sug 
gestive  that  I  soon  found  my  narrative  would  transcend 
the  limits  of  an  epistle,  and  I  determined  to  write  my 
reminiscences  of  General  Scott,  and  of  other  distinguished 
persons  and  events  with  which  I  had  been  associated. 

The  first  time  I  ever  saw  General  Scott  was  in  the  year 
1831,  when  he  was  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Visitors 
at  the  West  Point  Military  Academy,  and  I  was  a  cadet 
under  examination.  I  was  called  to  the  blackboard  and 
required  to  work  out  the  barometric  formula  as  in  Fran- 
cceur's  Mechanics.  I  remember  the  time  with  perfect 
distinctness,  as  there  was  in  the  course  a  problem  relat 
ing  to  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes,  that  I  had  not 
been  able  to  review,  and  I  feared  it  would  be  given  to  me 
and  that  I  should  fail,  or  "  'fess,"  as  the  cadets  would 
say.  The  announcement  of  my  task  made  me  happy, 
and  I  had  time  to  observe  the  general  without  pre-occu- 
pation.  He  was  much  taller  than  any  other  member  of 
the  Board,  but  not  very  stout.  His  complexion  was 
light,  his  eyes  large,  clear,  and  blue,  and  it  appeared 
to  me  that  his  face  was  marked  with  more  lines  than  I 
observed  at  a  later  date.  His  whole  appearance  was  that 
of  a  convalescent  nearly  restored  to  good  health.  As  I 
proceeded  with  my  demonstration,  I  noticed  that  he 
looked  at  me  as  though  he  was  my  teacher,  and  I  ex 
pected  he  would  question  me,  but  he  did  not,  and  as  he 
gave  the  same  attention  to  all  the  others  in  the  class,  I 


First  Impressions  of  Scott.  3 

could  boast  of  no  special  distinction.  I  did  not  speak  to 
the  general  during  the  three  or  four  weeks  he  remained 
on  the  Point,  and  when  I  went  to  report  to  him  as  act 
ing  aide-de-camp,  on  the  2Qth  day  of  October,  1833,  he 
did  not  recognize  me. 

I  owed  my  selection  for  the  Staff  to  the  influence  of  my 
very  dear  friend,  Lieutenant  Hugh  W.  Mercer,  who  was 
the  second  aide.  He  was  the  son  of  General  Mercer,  of 
the  Revolutionary  Army,  and  a  gentleman  of  the  purest 
type.  He  was  a  model  of  elegance  and  grace,  and  his 
talents  were  of  a  superior  order. 

General  Scott  esteemed  Mercer  so  highly  as  to  take  me 
into  his  military  family  upon  his  sole  recommendation. 

I  arrived  at  the  office  in  Lispenard  Street,  New  York,  at 

II  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  was  then  first  introduced 
to  my  future  chief.     He  received  me  with  a  coldness  that 
chilled  the  marrow  in  my  bones.     Looking  up   from  his 
writing,  he  asked  me  how  long  I  had  been  out  of  the 
Military  Academy  ?     I  replied  sixteen  months. 

Then  turning  to  Mercer  he  remarked  :  "  How  happened 
it  that  General  Jones  allowed  this  young  officer  to  leave 
his  regiment  so  soon  ?  " 

Nothing  more  was  said.  The  general  wafted  his  eye 
over  me  in  a  way  that  was  not  encouraging  and  resumed 
his  writing,  while  I  withdrew  to  a  desk  in  the  rear  office, 
there  to  await  the  bidding  of  my  superiors. 

From  my  seat  I  could  always  see  and  hear  the  old 
chief,  and  I  was  not  slow  to  learn  that  his  temperament 
was  irritable,  and  that  he  was  easily  bored.  I  was  told 
that  the  young  officer  who  was  my  predecessor  brought 
himself  into  disfavor  and  lost  his  place  because  he  would 
every  morning  question  the  general  about  his  health,  how 
he  slept,  how  his  family  were,  etc. 

I  concluded,  therefore,  to  ask  no  questions,  and  only  to 


4  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

speak  to  him  when  he  addressed  me,  which  was  seldom., 
as  I  received  my  orders  mostly  through  the  Assistant  Ad 
jutant-General. 

I  took  good  care  to  be  punctual,  and  as  the  mail  ar 
rived  at  10  o'clock  A.M.,  that  was  the  hour  I  was  expected 
to  be  at  my  post,  and  1  made  it  a  point  invariably  to  be 
entering  the  door  while  the  clock  of  Saint  John's  Church 
was  striking  ten.  I  finished  everything  I  had  to  do 
neatly,  and  with  despatch,  and  in  that  way  I  gained  ap 
proval  and  secured  to  myself  the  reward  that  follows  un- 
officious  usefulness. 

It  was  often  required  of  me  to  go  to  the  general  for 
orders,  and  to  show  him  papers,  but  he  never  said  any 
thing  that  denoted  the  slightest  personal  interest  in  me 
till  I  had  been  with  him  four  months. 

One  day  at  the  end  of  that  time,  after  finishing  his 
writing,  he  turned  in  his  chair  and  said,  "  Mr.  Keyes,  I 
wish  you  to  come  and  dine  with  me  at  four  o'clock  this 
afternoon."  I  accepted  his  invitation,  which  I  considered 
an  order,  and  at  the  appointed  hour  found  myself  at  his 
house,  No.  5  Bond  Street,  which  at  that  time  was  one  of 
the  most  fashionable  streets  in  the  city. 

Lieutenant  William  C.  De  Hart,  who  was  first  aide-de 
camp  and  assistant  adjutant-general,  and  I  were  the  only 
guests,  and  the  dinner,  though  simple,  was  good.  Al 
though  I  took  little  part  in  the  conversation  at  that 
dinner,  I  gained  without  design  a  strong  point  with  my 
host.  Wishing  for  the  salt,  which  stood  nearer  to  De 
Hart  than  to  me,  but  nearer  to  the  general  than  to  either 
of  us,  I  said,  "  Mr.  De  Hart,  will  you  please  pass  me  the 
salt?"  He  did  so,  and  I  helped  myself.  Then  the 
general  turned  and  said,  "  Young  gentleman,  you  showed 
tact  in  asking  Mr.  De  Hart  for  the  salt  instead  of  me,  as 
he  is  more  nearly  your  own  age,"  and  his  eye  rested  upon 


Funeral  of  Lafayette.  5 

me  with  a  bland  expression  that  was  cheering,  and  ever 
afterwards  when  I  went  to  him  for  orders  he  would  look 
up  at  me. 

Nevertheless  I  was  so  much  awed  in  the  presence  of 
my  chief  that  I  seldom  said  a  word  to  him  except  in  reply 
to  his  questions,  until  after  the  funeral  ceremonies  of  La 
Fayette,  which  were  celebrated  in  New  York  in  the 
month  of  July,  1834.  During  the  night  preceding  that 
solemn  event  it  rained,  and  the  cobble  pavements  were 
covered  with  mud  and  were  very  slippery. 

A  dozen  or  more  officers  of  the  army,  headed  by 
Generals  Scott  and  Brady,  joined  in  the  procession,  and 
marched  on  foot  six  or  seven  miles  in  the  blazing  sun  of 
one  of  the  hottest  days  known.  Near  the  end  of  the 
route,  the  column  halted,  and.  the  officers  closed  around 
the  two  generals.  Remarks  were  made  about  the  heat, 
the  mud,  the  length  and  slowness  of  the  march,  and 
several  complained  of  exhaustion.  Old  General  Brady 
said,  "  Mr.  Keyes,  you  don't  appear  to  be  tired."  "  No," 
interrupted  Dr.  Mower,  "  the  blood  meanders  calmly  in  the 
veins  of  this  youth."  Those  simple  remarks,  and  the 
friendly  attention  of  those  two  venerable  men — General 
Brady  appeared  very  old,  and  was  a  captain  in  1792 — won 
my  heart,  and  to  this  day  I  feel  an  affection  for  their 
memory.  It  was  nearly  dark  when  the  ceremony  ended 
at  the  City  Hall,  and  General  Scott  called  a  carriage, 
took  me  in  with  him,  and  drove  slowly  to  Bond  Street. 

During  the  whole  passage  he  was  giving  me  advice. 
"  You  are  now,"  said  he,  "  beginning  life— you  are  green 
and  ignorant  of  society  and  of  yourself.  You  appear  to  be 
industrious  and  studious  enough  to  fit  yourself  for  high 
exploits  in  your  profession,  and  your  next  object  should 
be  to  make  yourself  a  perfect  man  of  the  world.  To  do 
that,  you  must  carefully  observe  well-bred  men,  like  Mr. 


6  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

Charles  King,  Lieutenant  Mercer  and  others.  You  musi 
also  learn  to  converse  and  to  express  your  thoughts  ir 
proper  language,  like  Mr.  Ogden  Hoffman  and  Dr 
Hawkes.  You  must  make  acquaintances  among  the  besl 
people,  and  take  care  always  to  be  respectful  to  old  per 
sons  and  to  the  ladies  !  " 

No  young  man  was  ever  more  surprised  and  astonished 
than  I  was  while  I  listened  to  the  foregoing  homily.  It  was 
a  manifestation  of  interest  in  me  that  he  had  never  shown 
before.  The  impression  it  made  upon  me  can  only  be 
understood  by  knowing  how  I  then  felt,  and  how  the 
speaker  appeared  to  me. 

^The  value  of  my  opinion  of  the  hero  of  my  work  will  be 
better  estimated  if  I  give  my  observations  upon  him 
when  I  was  untutored  as  well  as  when  experience  and 
time  had  qualified  my  judgment.  I  must  therefore  de 
scribe  myself  as  I  was,  and  him  as  he  seemed  at  the  time 
I  first  joined  his  staff. 

My  mother  was  a  puritan  of  the  severest  type,  but  my 
father  was  not  a  puritan  ;  consequently  there  was  a  possi 
bility  of  my  being  something  else.  My  father  had  a  strong 
will  and  my  mother  was  the  climax  of  virtue,  although 
her  disposition  was  saddened  by  the  views  she  entertained 
of  religion  and  accountability. 

She  read  the  works  of  Petrarch,  Zimmerman's  book  on 
solitude,  Young's  Night  Thoughts,  and  every  species  of 
dismal  sentimental  literature.  During  all  my  youth  it 
appeared  to  me  that  my  mother  spent  her  evenings 
poring  over  the  five  folio  volumes  of  Scott's  Commen 
taries  on  the  Bible.  She  sought  a  reason  for  her  faith, 
which  was  of  the  darkest,  coldest  shade  of  Presbyterian- 
ism.  My  grandmother,  from  whom  my  mother  derived 
her  peculiar  cast  of  mind,  was  endowed  with  the  most 
extraordinary  memory  I  ever  witnessed  in  a  woman.  It 


Description  of  Scott.  7 

appears  to  me  that  she  could  recite  all  the  poetry  ever 
conceived  by  human  brains  to  express  every  emotion  of 
sorrow  that  can  arise  from  discontent,  life-long  despond 
ency,  and  despair.  Even  Madame  de  Stae'l,  who  surprised 
the  world  by  the  genius  with  which  she  depicted  the 
various  forms  of  anguish  that  oppress  the  human  breast, 
could  not  drape  this  vale  of  tears  in  more  sombre  weeds 
than  could  my  grandmother  Corey. 

As  I  had  a  supreme  affection  and  reverence  for  my 
mother  and  grandmother,  I  could  not  fail  to  participate 
in  a  large  degree  in  the  anxiety  and  doubts  with  which 
their  lives  were  environed.  I  had  scruples  which  not 
even  the  military  training  and  new  associations  at  West 
Point  had  removed,  and  the  general's  advice  to  me  to  be 
come  a  perfect  man  of  the  world  sounded  like  a  lesson  in 
deviltry.  But  for  the  darkness  that  concealed  the  ex 
pression  of  my  face,  he  would  have  seen  that  I  did  not 
fully  accept  his  teachings  ;  nevertheless,  they  have  been 
verified  by  time,  and  I  have  repeated  them  to  my  sons. 

At  the  period  referred  to  General  Scott  was  a  little  past 
the  middle  life,  but  still  in  the  perfection  of  his  bodily 
and  mental  powers.  He  was  six  feet  four  and  a  quarter 
inches  tall,  erect  as  an  Indian  chief,  with  an  eye  of  won 
derful  force  and  expression.  His  features  were  regular, 
his  nose  nearly  straight,  although  a  slight  curve  added 
essentially  to  the  air  of  command  which  is  peculiar  to  the 
masters  of  slaves,  whether  they  be  white  or  black.  His 
martial  bearing  was  enhanced  by  the  remembrance  of 
past  exploits,  by  constant  adulation,  by  self-content,  and 
many  feasts.  Instead  of  estimating  his  prominent  traits 
at  a  less  value  because  I  saw  him  every  day,  I  valued 
them  more  highly,  so  that  I  must  have  pleased  him  better 
by  what  I  thought  than  what  I  did.  I  listened  to  his 
voice  with  attention,  and  accepted  his  counsels  with  the 


8  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

docility  of  Kaled  when  he  stood  in  the  presence  of  Omar 
the  Prudent. 

As  soon  as  I  became  planted  in  his  favor,  I  took  care 
that  my  growing  should  not  be  retarded  by  negligence. 
I  set  myself  to  study  the  expression  of  his  face  and  his 
habits,  when  influenced  by  various  emotions,  and  I  was 
not  slow  to  learn  that  to  know  when  to  stop  speaking 
was  a  capital  point.  Often  would  I  break  away  in  the 
middle  of  a  sentence  and  be  out  of  his  sight  in  a  second. 
When  I  went  to  his  private  office  or  his  room,  which  it 
was  my  duty  to  do  often,  if  I  saw  his  face  did  not  invite 
discourse  or  company,  I  would  turn  and  be  gone  before 
he  could  open  his  mouth. 

Until  I  knew  General  Scott's  true  character,  and  when 
I  pictured  him  from  report,  I  concluded  he  was  a  great 
soldier  and  a  very  vain  man.  When  I  became  better  ac 
quainted  with  him,  I  discovered  new  proofs  of  his  excel 
lent  soldiership,  and  my  opinion  of  his  vanity  was  essen 
tially  modified.  Old  Captain  Jock  Munro  of  the  artillery 
defined  him  truly  when  he  said  :  "  The  jinral  thinks  well 
of  himself  and  is  fond  of  a  compliment,  but  he  is  willing 
to  give  a  compliment  now  and  then  in  exchange.  He  is 
not  like  some  men  we  know,  who  want  all  the  compli 
ments  to  themselves  and  never  give  any."  He  mentioned 
the  names  of  two  army  officers,  which  I  omit. 

The  general  was  often  extravagantly  ironical  and  exag 
gerated  in  his  expressions  on  many  subjects,  vanity  in 
cluded.  One  evening  when  I  returned  from  a  dinner 
party,  he  asked  me  what  I  had  to  eat.  Among  other  things 
I  mentioned  veal.  "Veal!"  said  he;  "did  you  ever  know 
a  gentleman  to  eat  veal  ?  "  The  next  day  I  dined  with 
him,  and  he  gave  me  veal  and  no  other  meat. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  general  was  vain  of 
many  things,  and  especially  so  of  his  person.  For  that 


Scott  s  Vanity.  9 

there  was  good  reason,  since  I  was  often  sickened  by  hear 
ing  persons  of  all  degrees  remind  him  of  his  stature  and 
symmetry,  but  he  was  never  offended.  He  referred  to  it 
himself  on  all  occasions,  and  sometimes  under  strange  cir 
cumstances,  as  in  the  following  example  which  I  heard 
him  relate  several  times.  It  was,  I  think,  in  the  year  1830 
— the  general  was  always  minutely  particular  in  naming 
the  exact  date  of  every  event  he  described — when  travel 
ling  in  the  northern  part  of  Ohio,  he  stopped  at  a  coun 
try  store  where  they  sold  liquor  by  the  glass.  He  had  on 
a  common  travelling  cap  and  a  plain  overcoat  that  con 
cealed  his  buttons.  The  landlord  having  stepped  out,  he 
went  behind  the  counter  upon  which  the  glasses  stood,  to 
a  desk,  and  was  busy  writing  a  note,  when  a  farmer  came 
in  and  called  out,  "  Give  me  a  glass  of  rum  toddy."  The 
general  straightened  up,  and  turning  full  upon  the  man, 
he  exclaimed :  "  Did  you  ever  know  a  man  six  feet  four 
and  a  quarter  inches  tall  to  sell  rum  toddy  ?  " 

He  told  me  that  when  he  received  his  first  commission 
in  the  army,  which  was  that  of  captain,  he  immediately 
ordered  a  new  suit  of  uniform — sword,  sash,  cap — every 
thing  complete,  and  had  it  carried  into  the  largest  room 
in  the  house,  in  the  diagonal  corners  of  which  he  placed 
two  looking-glasses.  Then  he  cleared  away  all  the  furni 
ture,  let  in  as  much  light  as  possible,  put  on  his  new  uni 
form,  and  strutted  back  and  forth  between  the  mirrors 
for  two  hours.  "  But,"  said  he,  "  if  any  man  had  seen  me, 
I  should  have  proceeded  at  once  to  put  him  to  death." 

He  never  forgot  any  allusion  or  reference  to  any  defi 
ciency  or  fault  in  his  person,  dress,  or  carnage.  Colonels 
Bankhead,  Lindsay,  and  Eustis  used  to  relate  that,  when 
Scott  was  a  young  man,  he  had  a  healthy,  active  appear, 
ance,  but  owing  to  his  extraordinary  height  he  looked 
thin,  and  that  he  only  weighed  impounds.  The  general 


IO  Fifty   Years    Observation. 

himself  more  than  once  recalled  to  me  the  impression 
made  upon  others  by  his  youthful  figure.  He  told  me 
that  a  man  who  envied  him  circulated  a  story,  that  before 
visiting  his  lady-love  he  would  have  his  coat  padded,  and 
put  on  false  calves!  Forty  years  had  not  subdued  his 
wrath  when  he  exclaimed,  "  The  idea  of  me  with  false 
calves!'* 

As  my  narrative  proceeds,  I  shall  have  occasion  to  re 
late  other  incidents  to  show  the  pride  and  satisfaction 
with  which  he  regarded  his  own  person. 

He  was  equally  content  with  the  excellence  of  his 
mental  qualifications,  as  the  following  incident  will  prove: 
One  day  I  was  reading  to  him  a  newspaper  article  in 
praise  of  Henry  Clay.  The  writer  described  the  distin 
guished  Kentuckian  as  a  man  of  commanding  presence, 
with  a  lofty  forehead  and  a  large,  loose  mouth.  He  re 
ferred  also  to  several  other  renowned  orators — Burke, 
Mirabeau,  and  Patrick  Henry — whose  mouths  were  of  ex 
traordinary  size,  and  he  concluded  his  article  with  the  re 
mark,  "  All  great  men  have  large  mouths."  "  All  great 
men  have  large  mouths  !  "  exclaimed  the  general ;  "  why, 
my  mouth  is  not  above  three-fourths  the  size  it  should  be 
for  my  bulk  !  " 

The  foregoing  citations  clearly  indicate  that  General 
Scott  had  a  good  opinion  of  himself,  and  it  is  certain  that 
most  people  thought  him  excessively  vain.  Neverthe 
less,  after  my  long  service  and  intimacy  with  him,  he  did 
not  leave  on  my  mind  the  impression  of  the  mean,  selfish 
vanity  in  all  things  which  characterized  two  or  three  other 
men  with  whose  domination  I  have  been  cursed.  On  the 
contrary,  his  vivid  fancy  and  animated  utterances  in  re 
gard  to  himself  seemed  but  responsive  to  the  good  quali 
ties  he  had  recognized  in  others.  A  vast  number  of  men 
and  women  had  secured  his  friendship  by  their  respect 


Scott's  Ambition.  n 

and  kindness  towards  him,  and  he  found  great  pleasure 
in  describing  their  virtues  to  me.  He  would  unfold  the 
wisdom  of  the  old,  the  valor  of  the  young,  the  gentleness 
of  matrons,  the  tenderness  of  maidens  of  various  ages, 
the  bounties  of  some  and  the  prudence  of  others,  with 
such  a  genial  flow  of  words  that  I  listened  to  him  with 
delight.  But  I  confess  I  often  wondered  why  I  had  not 
met  more  characters  like  those  he  described  to  me ! 

The  chief  ruling  passion  of  the  general  was  ambition 
and  its  uniform  attendant,  jealousy.  In  matters  of  rivalry 
he  was  easily  vexed,  and  when  the  thing  pursued  was  of 
great  distinction,  he  seemed  to  go  out  of  his  own  skin 
into  that  of  an  angry  porcupine  with  every  quill  standing 
fiercely  on  end.  Wild  Medea  could  not  rage  as  he  would 
against  all  men  who  obstructed  the  way  to  the  prize  he 
coveted.  He  would  pour  out  his  venom  against  his  rivals 
in  terms  which  showed  him  skilled  in  the  jargon  of  ob 
loquy;  and  after  two  or  three  years  in  his  company,  if  I 
had  credited  his  descriptions  of  the  superior  officers  of 
the  Northern  armies  in  the  War  of  1812,  I  must  have 
concluded  that  not  one  of  them  was  above  mediocrity  and 
that  several  were  far  below. 

He  had  also  many  things  to  say  in  disparagement  of 
every  aspirant  to  the  Presidency  who  competed  with  him. 
He  thought  Harrison  was  equally  insignificant,  and  weak 
in  person  and  mind,  and  could  never  find  fit  words  to  de 
scribe  his  loathing  for  Franklin  Pierce,  who  he  believed 
was  the  meanest  creature  that  ever  aspired  to  be  Presi 
dent  ! 

One  day  when  he,  Mr.  Joseph  Blunt  and  I  were  dining 
together  at  the  Union  Club,  New  York,  the  general 
swooped  upon  Daniel  Webster.  Blunt,  amazed  at  his 
violence,  dropped  his  knife  and  fork,  looked  up  and 
sought  to  expostulate,  but  to  no  purpose.  Scott  kept  on 


12  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

till  he  had  made  the  great  expounder  as  bad  as  Belial 
and  in  the  same  line,  and  Belial,  as  Milton  informs  us, 
was 

"  The  dissolutest  spirit  that  fell, 
The  sensualest,  and  after  Asmodai, 
The  fleshliest  incubus    .     .     ." 

The  antics  of  military  and  political  jealousy,  like  the 
follies  of  love,  are  beyond  the  scope  of  prose,  and  if  we 
could  uncover  the  hearts  of  all  rising  generals  and  poli 
ticians,  we  should  find  them  about  equally  black,  and 
quite  as  fully  charged  with  hatred  against  their  rivals  as 
that  of  my  angry,  outspoken  chief. 

On  a  former  occasion,  and  before  they  came  into  direct 
competition  for  the  Presidency,  I  often  heard  General 
Scott  speak  in  terms  of  admiration  of  Mr.  Webster's  ex 
traordinary  abilities.  I  was  with  the  two  gentlemen  on  a 
journey  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia  shortly  after  Mr. 
Webster  returned  from  England  in  the  autumn  of  1839. 
They  were  wedged  together  in  the  same  seat,  and  I  sat 
in  front  of  them.  Both  the  great  men  were  in  a  cheerful 
mood,  and  Mr.  Webster  did  nearly  all  the  talking,  while 
the  general  listened  attentively,  thus  paying  to  him  an  un 
usual  compliment.  Mr.  Webster's  conversation  was  more 
interesting  to  me  than  one  of  his  speeches  in  the 
Senate.  He  had  much  to  say  about  the  Duke  of  Wel 
lington,  Lords  Brougham,  Palmerston  and  other  distin 
guished  Britons;  I  was  astonished  at  what  he  said  of 
the  Duke  of  Wellington,  whom  he  thought  the  ablest 
man  he  met  in  England.  He  spoke  of  Wellington's 
orders  and  despatches,  many  of  which  he  had  read,  and 
he  commented  on  their  force  and  clearness.  He  also 
praised  the  elegance  of  the  Iron  Duke's  manners  and  the 
graces  of  his  conversation,  and  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  his  judgment  of  Wellington  was  correct.  No  order 


We&ster's  Memories  of  England.  13 

the  Duke  ever  wrote  contained  a  superfluous  word,  01 
could  by  possibility  have  been  misunderstood.     If  he  had 
framed  laws,  and  he  would  never  have  framed  one  on  a 
subject  he  did  not  fully  understand,  they  would  have  been 
equally  clear,  and  no  lawyer,  however  astute,  could  have 
driven  through  them  with  his  coach  and  four.     A  statute  ^ 
drawn  by  a  legal  gentleman  to  regulate  business  he  does 
not    comprehend  is   usually   a  nest    of  law-suits.       Mr. 
Webster's  remarks    upon    Lord    Brougham's    character, 
writings,  and  speeches  were   not  so  flattering — he  found 
many  flaws,  and  his  general  opinion  of  the  Scotchman  was 
disparaging,  as   compared  with  Wellington.     He  consid- 
dered  Palmerston  a  very  able  statesman,  and  purely  Eng 
lish  in  character.     Mr.  Webster  discoursed  at  length  upon 
English  agriculture,  and  described  his  visit  to  Mr.  Cook's 
model  farm,  of  which  he  gave  many  interesting  particulars. 
He  had  much  to  say  concerning   English  railroads  and 
their  management,  which  were  at  that  time  in  all  respects  . 
vastly  superior  to  those  in  America.     I  remember  he  said 
that  from  London  to  Liverpool  signal  men  with  flags  were 
placed  in  sight  of  one  another  throughout  the  entire  line  !    I 
recollect  the  very  words  he  used  to  describe  our  railroads 
in  America.  "  They  are  made,"  said  he,  "  of  two  stringers  of 
scantling  notched  into  ties  that  often  get  loose  in  the  ground. 
Upon  the  stringers  two  straps  of  iron  the  width  and  thick 
ness  of  wagon  tires  are  nailed.     These  straps  of  iron  fre 
quently   get    detached  at  the  ends,   which  turn   up  like 
snakes'  heads  and  pierce  the  floors  of  the  cars."     (Such  a 
thing  actually  occurred  in  a  car  in  which  General  Scott 
was  seated  on  his   way  from  Elizabeth   to    New   York.) 
"  Then,"  said  he,  "  the  wheels  slip  on  the  iron  straps,  in 
winter  especially,  so    much  that   no  dependence  can  be 
placed  upon  the  time  of  arrival,  and  many  people  think  it 
is  not  certain  that  railroads  will  be  a  success." 


14  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

The  above  was  literally  true  in  the  year  1840.  At  that 
time  the  locomotive  was  a  small,  weak  machine,  that  was 
employed  to  drag  a  few  pinched,  coach-like  cars  at  a 
speed  of  about  ten  miles  an  hour.  On  slightly  ascend 
ing  grades  the  wheels  would  often  whirl  and  race 
while  the  train  stood  still.  Now  the  locomotive  is  per 
fected,  and  endowed  with  such  power  as  to  be  able  to 
carry  along  over  the  face  of  the  earth  and  across  conti 
nents  a  train  of  palatial  cars  a  quarter  of  a  mile  long  at  a 
speed  of  from  forty  to  sixty  miles  an  hour.  Then  the 
directors  and  stockholders  of  railroads  constituted  the 
meekest  and  most  sorrowful  class  of  our  citizens.  They 
were  pallid,  meagre,  supplicating  men ;  but  now  they  are 
a  distinct  class,  to  which  all  the  world  makes  obeisance, 
and  they  have  become  ruddy,  surfeit-swelled,  and  dicta 
torial. 

The  facilities  of  intercommunication  introduced  by 
steam,  and  the  enormous  developments  of  wealth  result 
ing  from  it,  have  produced  an  absolute  revolution  in  the 
objects  of  respect  and  veneration  of  our  people.  Elo 
quence  and  learning,  duty,  wit,  birth,  and  manners  are  no 
longer  regarded,  and  all  who  possess  those  graces  are 
eager  to  pay  court  and  servility  to  the  biggest  fortunes. 
Gold  is  the  only  god,  and  his  prophet  is  the  man  who  pos 
sesses  most  of  it.  This  state  of  things  is  verified  by  all 
who  boast  of  an  experience  of  thirty-five  years. 

At  the  time  I  left  the  Military  Academy,  and  long  be 
fore,  and  down  to  near  1850,  there  were  living  and  in  ac 
tivity  three  illustrious  statesmen,  all  Senators,  whose 
names  were  heard  every  day  all  over  the  Union.  The 
order  in  which  they  were  mentioned  was  in  accord  with 
the  estimation  in  which  they  were  held  in  the  different 
sections.  In  the  East  and  North  it  was  Webster,  Clay, 
and  Calhoun.  In  the  West  it  was  Clay,  Calhoun,  and 


The  Country  About  1840.  15 

Webster ;  and  in  the  South  it  was  Calhoun,  Clay,  and 
Webster.  The  consideration  in  which  those  men  were 
held — and  they  were  all  poor — was  not  only  an  evidence 
of  their  genius,  but  it  was  a  proof  of  the  dignity  of 
thought  and  an  example  of  the  prevailing  public  opinion. 
During  the  same  period  there  lived  two  military  men, 
Winfield  Scott  and  Andrew  Jackson,  whose  opinions  were 
undisputed  in  all  questions  relating  to  war.  There  were 
also  many  authors  and  men  of  science  who  enjoyed  re 
spect,  and  only  one  who  possessed  a  mystic  and  unap* 
proachable  renown  for  being  rich,  and  that  was  John 
Jacob  Astor.  Mr.  Astor  was  not  personally  ostentatious, 
but  towards  the  end  of  his  life  he  entertained  at  his  table 
many  literary  and  scientific  men.  He  was  always  enter 
prising  and  industrious,  and  he  built  for  use  and  not  for 
show.  I  shall  have  more  to  say  of  Messrs.  Webster,  Clay, 
Calhoun,  and  Jackson  in  the  succeeding  chapters,  this 
one  being  devoted  to  outlines  and  general  characteristics 
which  I  will  fill  up  and  develop  hereafter. 

To  understand  the  character  and  extent  of  the  revolu 
tion  effected  by  steam  and  electricity  in  the  last  forty- 
five  years,  we  must  consider  the  condition  of  society  in 
America  from  the  time  the  first  railroad  was  in  operation, 
in  1830,  the  first  friction  match  was  used,  about  1837,  and 
the  first  telegraphic  message  was  sent,  in  1844.  1°  l838 
Samuel  Swartwout,  being  Collector  of  Customs  for  the 
Port  of  New  York,  was  found  to  be  defaulter  to  the 
amount  of  $1,200,000.  That  discovery  produced  a  shock 
in  every  corner  of  the  United  States  greater  than  would 
be  caused  to-day  if  that  city,  with  all  its  people  and 
structures,  were  to  be  engulfed  by  an  earthquake. 

The  building  of  the  Astor  House  shortly  before  that 
date  was  a  greater  surprise  and  more  talked  about  than 
any  other  edifice  that  has  been  subsequently  erected 


1 6  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

in  America.  In  1838  a  man  with  a  clear  annual  income 
of  $6,000  or  $8,000  was  considered  rich,  and  there  were 
not  then  five  private  two-horse  carriages  in  the  city  of 
New  York  the  owner's  names  of  which  I  did  not  know  ; 
and  I  was  personally  acquainted  with  a  majority  of  them. 

The  city  of  Washington  was  a  dirty,  shabby  village, 
and  to  go  there  from  New  York  required  two  days.  The 
arts  of  cooking  and  keeping  a  hotel  were  in  their  dawn, 
and  the  headings  in  the  newspapers  from  time  to  time 
announced  thirty  days,  and  now  and  then  sixty  days,  lat 
er  news  from  Europe.  The  country  between  Utica  and 
Buffalo  was  mostly  covered  with  forests,  and  in  travelling 
through  it  in  a  stage-coach  in  the  spring  of  1838  I  saw 
many  deer.  In  the  autumn  I  was  ordered  to  St.  Louis,  and 
the  journey  from  New  York  occupied  twenty-eight  days. 
The  last  350  miles  I  was  carried  in  an  open  farm  wagon 
over  a  part  of  Indiana  and  the  whole  of  Illinois.  The 
boastful  city  of  Chicago  was  scarcely  known,  and  in  that 
very  year  a  letter  was  addressed  as  follows :  "  Mr.  Seth 
Fisher,  Chicago — near  Alton — Illinois."  Alton  was  a 
small  settlement  on  the  Mississippi,  above  its  junction 
with  the  Missouri. 

The  art  of  land  and  maritime  warfare  and  the  means 
of  assault  and  defence  had  been  at  a  standstill  200 
years,  and  in  many  particulars,  over  300  years.  The 
model  of  the  twelve  bronze  cannon,  made  during  the 
reign  of  Charles  V.  of  Spain,  and  called  the  Twelve 
Apostles,  was  considered  good  in  1840.  Vauban's  fortifi 
cations,  200  years  old,  had  scarcely  been  changed,  and  the 
flint  lock  was  still  employed.  The  use  of  gunpowder 
had  increased  the  facilities  of  slaughter  so  suddenly  as 
to  produce  a  kind  of  lethargic  contentment  in  the  human 
mind,  and  the  genius  of  inventions  to  kill  remained  in  re 
pose  hundreds  of  years.  It  was  finally  awakened  about 


Progress  in  the  last  Forty   Years.  17 

the  year  1845  by  Captain  Minie  of  the  French  army, 
who  invented  the  Minie  ball  and  rifle  in  about  the  year 
1846.  His  invention  has  been  succeeded  by  that  of  many 
new  and  fearfully  destructive  explosives,  and  the  com 
plete  change  of  model  in  artillery  and  small  arms  tending 
vastly  to  increase  their  range.  The  Parrott  gun,  which  is 
made  by  swedging  a  jacket  of  wrought  upon  a  tube  of 
cast  iron,  is  the  invention  of  a  West  Pointer  a  few  years 
later.  That  weapon  played  an  important  part  in  the  Re 
bellion,  and  it  kills  at  an  immense  distance. 

In  theology,  law,  surgery,  therapeutics,  chemistry,  and 
engineering  there  has  been  wonderful  activity.  Christi 
anity  continues  to  rear  her  temples,  and  the  conceited 
creatures  who  boast  their  skepticism  and  infidelity  are  not 
increasing  in  numbers,  but  it  would  seem  that  the  in 
tricacies  and  subterfuges  of  the  law  are  multiplying. 
Surgery  has  advanced  immensely  and  therapeutics  show 
amelioration.  On  the  whole,  the  present  material  con 
dition  of  mankind  may  be  considered  satisfactory.  Re 
ligion,  surgery,  chemistry  and  engineering  are  prosperous, 
and  if  a  man  is  now  more  to  be  pitied  when  he  falls  into 
the  clutches  of  the  law  and  his  property  is  coveted  by 
sharpers,  he  is  safer  when  he  trusts  himself  with  a  doctor. 

Artists  have  greatly  increased  in  numbers,  and  in  the 
opinion  of  some  of  them  their  works  are  approaching  the 
excellence  of  the  past.  It  is  clear  to  me,  nevertheless, 
that  no  man  has  lived  within  the  last  100  years  who  has 
originated  a  form  of  beauty,  whether  linear,  superficial  or 
solid,  that  had  not  already  been  equalled  and  often  ex 
celled.  Eloquence  and  art  have  long  been  exhausted  de 
velopments,  and  of  music  I  am  not  a  judge.  It  is  under 
going  change  and  it  may  be  improving. 

My  reminiscences  have  noted  all  the  changes  above  de 
scribed,  but  in  the  essential  qualities  of  the  human  heart  I 


1 8  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

have  found  no  change.  Everywhere  the  young  man  thinks 
his  own  love  is  the  most  beautiful  being  that  lives.  The 
ambitious  man  esteems  himself  as  best  fitted  for  the  office 
to  which  he  aspires,  and  hates  his  rivals,  and  if  he  fails  he 
curses  the  world's  ingratitude  and  lack  of  appreciation. 
Several  men  are  at  all  times  living  who  imagine  the  world 
cannot  do  without  them,  and  no  person  thinks  his  service 
overpaid  by  the  praise  or  money  bestowed  upon  him. 
Finally,  pride,  conceit,  or  snobbery  usually  attend  all  sud 
den  exaltations  to  wealth  or  power,  while  envy,  slander,  and 
hypocrisy  never  sleep.  If  the  record  of  my  past  obser 
vations  fails  to  make  good  all  these  assertions,  it  will  be 
because  I  lack  the  capacity  of  an  able  chronicler. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Scott  as  a  man  of  gallantry  and  the  head  of  a  family. — Scott  in  the  society 
of  ladies. — His  general  demeanor. — Fond  of  social  visiting. — His  conver 
sation. — Anecdotes. — His  love  of  attention. — Views  of  married  life. — 
His  own  marriage. — Opinion  of  marriage  in  the  army. 

IT  would  be  impossible  to  convey  a  full  knowledge 
of  General  Scott's  character  without  describing  his  re 
lations  with  the  opposite  sex.  My  observations  of  his 
conduct  in  the  society  of  ladies  are  perhaps  rendered 
more  distinct  by  a  certain  marked  contrariety  in  our 
natures.  He  always  declared  himself  to  be  a  gallant 
gentleman,  and  such,  in  a  dubious  sense,  he  was.  It  is 
true  he  never  omitted  to  speak  kindly  to  women,  and 
when  he  was  in  their  society  he  addressed  them  with  a 
sort  of  tenderness  which  only  appeared  strange  to  me  by 
its  eternal  sameness.  From  all  I  could  learn  from  his 
conversation  and  conduct,  he  never  had  a  desultory  love 
affair  in  his  whole  life,  and  he  never  allowed  himself 
to  be  swayed  or  diverted  from  his  purpose  by  a  woman, 
and  no  one  ever  gained  the  slightest  hold  upon  him. 
These  facts  appear  strange  when  we  reflect  that  he 
possessed  in  an  unusual  degree  the  qualities  which  uni 
versally  attract  them,  such  as  courage,  manly  bearing, 
martial  exploits,  and  contempt  for  money.  His  indiffer 
ence  enabled  him  to  escape  the  evils  which  unprincipled 
females  so  often  inflict  upon  our  sex ;  at  the  same  time  he 
lost  the  benefits  which  attend  the  companionship  and 
counsels  of  the  better  sort,  for  no  man  can  be  prosperous 


2O  Fifty    Years'  Observation. 

and  happy  who  is  not  governed  by  a  good  woman,  nor  fail 
to  be  wretched  if  led  by  a  bad  one. 

During  the  two-and-a-half  years  in  which  he  was  occu 
pied  with  the  troubles  on  the  Canadian  Frontier,  the  re 
moval  of  the  Cherokee  Indians,  and  the  settlement  of 
the  Northeastern  Boundary,  we  were  in  continual  move 
ment.  General  Scott  was  then  so  popular  that  in  all  the 
cities  and  towns  from  Maine  to  Georgia,  and  from  Boston 
to  Detroit,  his  presence  was  greeted  by  immense  crowds, 
and  he  was  frequently  beset  by  women,  who  clustered 
around  him  like  summer  flies.  As  I  always  kept  near 
him,  I  was  equally  surprised  and  amused  to  notice  the 
sameness  of  his  salutations  and  responses  to  all  who  ad 
dressed  him.  Among  those  who  approached  I  saw  every 
variety  of  female  yet  enumerated.  Thin-lipped,  sharp- 
nosed  vixens,  loud-talking  viragos,  stately  matrons,  senti 
mental  damsels,  joyous  maidens,  faded  and  dejected  spin 
sters,  prancing  widows,  fussy  house-wives,  willing  dames 
and  scandal-mongers  would  all  leave  his  presence  content 
with  having  been  gently  spoken  to  by  the  great  general. 

General  Scott  was  fond  of  social  visiting  and  of  sitting 
in  conversation  with  small  assemblies  of  his  intimate 
friends.  He  would  join  in  the  discussion  of  all  subjects 
of  family  and  domestic  interest  with  such  feeling  and  can 
dor  as  would  gain  the  sympathy  of  his  auditors.  Some 
times,  however,  he  would  indulge  in  a  license  with  young 
ladies  that  would  appall  me.  I  have  seen  him,  while  yet 
in  his  prime,  call  to  him  the  most  debonaire  maiden  pres 
ent,  spread  her  palm  upon  his,  examine  her  hand  with 
leisure  scrutiny,  and  then  bestow  a  kiss  upon  her  forehead  ! 
He  would  do  all  this  with  such  an  innocent  pudency,  and 
such  an  air  of  patriarchal  gravity,  that  there  was  no  more 
suggestion  of  dalliance  in  his  actions  than  in  the  benedic 
tion  of  a  saint. 


Scott's  Behavior  to   Women.  21 

In  all  societies  of  either  sex,  or  mixed,  General  Scott's 
conversation  was  universally  free  from  the  slightest  tinge 
of  lasciviousness,  and  he  would  invariably  rebuke  all  allu 
sions  to  that  subject.  I  never  knew  him  to  engross  an 
opportunity  to  be  alone  with  a  woman,  nor  with  one  ex 
ception,  which  I  will  give  further  on,  did  I  hear  him  re 
late  an  adventure  with  one,  which  might  not  have  been 
described  in  the  society  of  the  most  fastidious  ladies.  I 
never  gave  him  cause  to  rebuke  me  for  any  grossness  of 
conversation,  although  I  sometimes  caused  him  to  look 
serious  when  I  read  to  him,  or  made  a  quotation,  from 
books  or  poems  that  were  not  of  his  liking.  When,  in  so 
ciety,  he  saw  me  too  attentive  to  women  whose  allures 
did  not  please  him,  he  would  afterwards  give  me  a  lect 
ure  or  an  admonition,  which  I  considered  unmerited, 
since  nearly  all  the  ladies  I  consorted  with  were  fit  for 
vestals.  Such  was  my  reputation  among  mothers,  that  I 
was  constantly  trusted  to  travel  and  be  alone  with  young 
ladies,  and  if  all  the  dead  could  be  restored  to  testify  with 
the  living  to  the  truth  I  should  stand  acquitted  of  the 
slightest  betrayal  of  my  trust. 

Occasionally  I  was  heedless  in  my  conversations  in  gen 
eral  society,  as  the  following  example  will  show  by  the 
details  of  it,  which  I  will  faithfully  recite.  At  one  time 
when  we  arrived  at  a  large  Northern  town,  the  inhabi 
tants  offered  a  ball  to  the  general,  which  he  accepted.  He 
attended  the  ball  and  remained  till  its  close,  contrary  to 
his  usual  habit.  It  happened  that  among  the  guests  there 
was  an  intimate  friend  of  mine,  who  was  accompanied  by 
his  wife,  to  whom  he  had  been  married  only  a  few  months, 
and  to  whom  he  introduced  me.  The  bride  was  radiant 
with  health  and  beauty,  and  her  countenance  sparkled 
with  intelligence  and  spirit.  I  confess  to  an  instant  ad 
miration,  which  I  proceeded  to  exemplify  by  a  warmth  of 


22  Fifty   Years1  Observation. 

manner  and  a  persistence  of  attentions  that  soon  brought 
upon  me  the  gaze  of  my  chief,  which  I  heeded  not.  I 
danced  with  her  and  I  waltzed  with  hen  Then  we  pro 
menaded  and  danced  together  again.  In  one  of  our  cir 
cuits  around  the  room  our  way  was  through  a  narrow  pas 
sage  between  two  rows  of  chairs  occupied  by  wall  flowers, 
and  we  were  obliged  to  press  together  in  a  way  that 
shocked  the  general.  When  the  ball  was  over  I  joined 
my  superior  and  walked  with  him  to  his  chamber.  He 
was  not  in  a  good  humor,  said  nothing,  and  all  I  said  was, 
"  I'm  sorry  the  ball  is  breaking  up  so  soon."  The  moment 
the  door  was  closed,  he  exclaimed,  "  Who  was  that  woman 
you  were  with  all  the  evening  ?"  I  told  her  name,  and, 
after  some  remarks  that  were  not  flattering  to  her,  he 
proceeded  to  lecture  me.  He  had  observed  us  walking 
arm  in  arm  through  the  narrow  passage,  and  declared  that 
my  conduct  was  indecent.  This  last  word  agitated  me, 
and  in  a  hasty  attempt  to  justify  myself  I  committed  a 
serious  fault.  I  told  him  that  as  we  approached  the  nar 
row  passage,  I  said  to  the  lady,  "  We  must  pass  this  defile 
single,  or  pack  close."  "  Will  that  annoy  you  ?  "  said  she. 
"What  did  you  say  to  her?  "  interrupted  the  general  sud 
denly.  "  I  said  no !  with  effusion."  My  reply  was  not 
relished  by  the  old  chief,  although  it  was  in  keeping  with 
the  hilarity  with  which  I  was  still  surcharged.  He  was  be 
ginning  to  show  anger,  and  having  no  other  means  of  de 
fence  I  resorted,  as  was  my  custom  on  frequent  occasions, 
to  a  quotation.  Looking  up  at  him  smiling,  I  said, 
"  General ! 

" '  Your  own  precedent  passions  will  inform  you 
What  levity's  in  youth    .     .     .'" 

Then  his  countenance  relaxed,  and  he  said :  "  Young 

gentleman,  you'd  better  go  to  bed  " — and  to  bed  I  went. 

History  records  that  some  of  the  most  intrepid  warriors 


Anecdotes  of  Scott.  23 

have  been  not  only  bashful,  but  actually  afraid  in  the 
presence  of  ladies.  Charles  the  Xllth  of  Sweden  was 
one  example,  and  I  think  Marshal  Ney  was  another. 

General  Scott  once  told  me  a  story  of  himself  to  show 
that  he  was  more  scared  by  a  broomstick  in  the  hands  of 
a  woman  than  he  could  have  been  by  a  sabre  in  the 
hands  of  a  Turk ! 

"  It  was  during  my  college  vacation,"  said  he,  "  and  I 
was  at  home  near  Petersburg.  One  day  I  started  on  a 
long  walk  through  the  country,  and  after  a  tramp  of  sev 
eral  miles  I  arrived  at  a  farm-house,  where  I  stopped  to 
get  a  glass  of  milk.  There  was  no  one  present  but  the 
farmer's  wife,  who  was  a  stout,  buxom  woman,  and  I  fell 
into  conversation  with  her.  In  a  short  time  the  devil  put 
it  into  my  head  to  take  manual  liberties  with  her ;  but  at 
my  first  motion  she  sprang  away,  seized  a  broom,  and 
came  at  me  with  a  fury  such  as  only  an  earnest  female 
can  display.  The  door  being  open  I  shot  through — she 
pursuing  and  abusing  me — cleared  a  high  fence,  and  ran 
with  all  speed  across  the  fields  till  I  got  clear  of  the  sound 
of  her  voice  ;  and  that,  sir,"  said  he,  "  is  the  only  advent 
ure  of  the  kind  that  I  ever  undertook." 

On  another  occasion  he  was  horribly  frightened  by  an 
actress.  We  were  stopping  at  the  Astor  House,  on  our 
return  from  the  North.  The  general  occupied  a  room  on 
the  second  floor,  and  in  the  corresponding  room  of  the 
third  story  there  lodged  a  young  tragedy  queen  whose 

name  was  Josephine ,  and  who  was  more  famous  for 

her  personal  than  for  her  histrionic  accomplishments.  She 
was  six  feet  three  inches  tall,  her  complexion  was  a  light 
clear  brunette,  and  her  eyes  were  large  and  lustrous.  Her 
form  was  symmetrical,  though  a  trifle  full,  and  her 
womanly  proportions  were  redundant.  Altogether  she 
was  a  wonderful  girl  to  behold.  Miss  Josephine;  who 


24  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

was  probably  in  a  brown  study  or  thinking  of  her  r6le,  mis 
took  her  loft,  and  with  her  head  down  opened  the  door,  and 
actually  stood  for  a  moment  within  the  room,  and  in  the 
presence  of  Major-General  Winfield  Scott!  When  she 
saw  him  sitting  in  his  wrapper  strapping  his  razor,  she 
exclaimed  "  Oh ! "  and  left.  I  met  her  as  she  went  away 
near  the  stairway,  and  noticed  no  signs  of  agitation  in 
her,  but  when  I  entered  the  general's  room  his  face  was  the 
picture  of  terror.  "  Did  you  see  that  woman?  "  "  Yes," 
said  I.  "  Well,"  said  he,  "  she's  been  in  my  room  !  "  and 
he  added  harsh  expressions  which  I  omit. 

He  seemed  seriously  alarmed  lest  his  reputation  should 
be  compromised,  and  he  was  scarcely  satisfied  until  he 
was  assured  that  the  actress  opened  his  door  thinking  it 
was  her  own. 

In  matters  of  the  heart  it  was  not  easy  for  me  to  com 
prehend  my  chief,  whose  conduct  seldom  conformed  with 
its  dictates  as  observed  in  others.  It  is  usually  recog 
nized  that  young  men  derive  more  happiness  from  loving 
than  in  being  loved.  In  advanced  life  when  time  has 
torpified  the  faculties,  and  when  the  dark  shadow  of  old 
age  has  fallen  upon  him,  the  old  man  knows  no  happi 
ness  that  is  comparable  with  that  of  being  loved  by  a 
woman.  He  will  even  part  with  his  gold  to  gain  affec 
tion.  Most  men  of  sixty  have  passed  through  the  change 
above  described,  but  General  Scott,  so  far  as  I  could  ob 
serve,  or  had  learned,  remained  always  stationary,  and  he 
was  equally  ignorant  of  either  extreme.  What  he  desired 
was  attention,  and  that  he  craved  incessantly.  He  was 
quite  as  fond  of  old  as  of  young  women,  whether  single 
or  married.  If  he  had  a  preference,  it  was  for  old  maids, 
whose  hair  was  well  silvered,  as  the  following  incident 
will  show : 

When  he  was  over  seventy,  and  we  lived  at  Wormley's 


A  Defence  of  Old  Maids.  2$ 

in  Washington,  we  usually  walked  to  the  office  at  about 
ten  o'clock  in  the  morning.  As  we  were  moving  along  in 
silence  through  the  square  in  front  of  the  White  House, 

we  met  Miss ,  to  whom  we  bowed,  and  whom  we  both 

knew  and  esteemed  as  one  of  the  ornaments  of  her  sex. 
After  passing  her  a  few  steps,  I  said  in  a  soliloquizing 
tone,  "  I  suppose  the  most  calamitous  condition  of  a 
woman  is  to  be  an  old  maid."  We  were  then  in  the 
shade  of  a  clump  of  bushes,  and  the  general  had  my  arm, 
which  he  pulled  violently  and  stopped.  "  I  am  shocked," 
said  he,  "  at  your  cruel,  senseless  speech.  You  never 
could  make  a  more  wanton  assertion,  or  one  that  is  less 
deserved.  Instead  of  it  being  a  calamity  it  is  often  a 
blessing,  and  those  you  call  old  maids  are  generally  the 
best  of  their  sex."  He  continued  in  that  strain  at  least 
ten  minutes,  and  gave  me  not  a  moment  to  defend  my 
self,  and  he  did  not  wish  to  hear  me.  I  must  therefore 
defend  myself  now,  for  I  can  say  with  all  sincerity  that 
in  the  main  I  agree  with  him.  My  long  experience  has 
brought  me  to  the  conviction  that,  in  the  proportion  of 
numbers,  I  have  found  more  amiable,  lovable,  and  de 
serving  women  among  old  maids  than  among  married 
women  of  equal  ages.  Many  accomplished  women  re 
main  single  by  reason  of  self-sacrifice  to  family  and  friends. 

I  could  cite  numerous  anecdotes  to  prove  that  his  re 
gard  for  women  was  not  dependent  upon  youth,  beauty, 
or  wit,  but  upon  alacrity  of  attentions.  This  history  of  a 
visit,  which  I  will  relate  as  proof,  will  not  only  establish 
my  position,  but  it  will  also  show  the  wonderful  influence 
of  an  energetic  female,  and  prove  a  warning  to  mothers. 

While  we  were  stopping  a  week  on  the  northern  fron 
tier,  many  farmers  of  the  neighborhood  came  with  their 
wives  and  daughters  to  pay  their  respects  and  to  see 
the  general.  Among  them  was  a  Mrs.  B and  her 


26  Fifty  Years*  Observation. 

husband.    I  say  Mrs.  B ,  for  it  was  she  who  did  all  the 

talking,  and  she  invited  the  general  and  me  to  tea  at  her 
house  on  the  evening  of  the  following  day.  She  said 
she  would  send  John  with  the  carnage  to  bring  us  out. 
The  distance  being  five  miles,  it  was  getting  dark  when 
we  arrived.  It  was  easy  to  see,  however,  that  we  were 
visiting  a  well-to-do  farmer,  that  the  buildings  were  spa 
cious  and  the  grounds  in  beautiful  order.  Mrs.  B 

was  on  the  steps  to  receive  us,  and  her  husband  was  stand 
ing  within  the  door.  She  seized  the  general's  hand  and 
welcomed  him  with  excessive  gladness.  The  lady  was  of 
the  sanguine  bilious  temperament,  which  denotes  force — 
tall,  rather  spare  in  person,  her  face  long,  nose  the  same 
and  high  and  thin  with  a  slight  cant  to  the  left,  eyes  dark  and 
firmly  set,  teeth  good.  She  wore  a  white  muslin  cap  ruffled 
all  around  and  tied  under  the  chin.  She  had  on  also  a 
white  apron,  and  her  dress  and  all  her  surroundings  denoted 
the  extreme  of  neatness  and  order.  In  age  she  appeared 
about  forty-five,  and  a  stranger  to  every  sort  of  malady. 
On  entering  the  house  we  were  conducted  to  a  large 
parlor,  which  contained  several  pieces  of  furniture  that  ap 
proached  elegance,  and  in  various  places  could  be  seen 
articles  of  ladies'  handiwork.  A  row  of  high-backed  chairs 
stood  against  the  wall  on  three  sides  of  the  room,  in  one 
corner  of  which  was  a  small  round  table.  Several  family 
pictures  adorned  the  walls,  and  that  of  the  man  of  the 
house  reminded  me  of  a  portrait  I  had  once  seen  of  the 
late  Job  Caudle.  At  the  end  of  a  few  minutes  we  were 

taken  into  the  dining-room,  where  we  found  Mr.  B and 

two   full-grown  girls.      "These  are  my  *  darters,' "  said 

Mrs.  B to  the  general,  and  then  she  asked  him  to  take 

the  seat  on  her  right.  The  table  was  covered  with  a  vast 
variety  of  good  things — broiled  chicken,  oysters,  beef 
steaks,  hot  and  cold  bread,  butter,  cream,  and  many  kinds 


77ie  Loquacious  Mrs.  B.  27 

of  cakes  and  preserves,  besides  tea  and  coffee.  Mrs.  B 's 

loquacity  was  astonishing,  and  the  ingenuity  with  which 
she  varied  her  compliments  and  her  solicitations  to  the 
general  to  make  him  eat  of  everything  on  the  table  was 
wonderful.  He  did  eat  more  cakes  and  preserves  than  I 
ever  saw  him  eat  before,  and  to  satisfy  his  hostess  he 
tasted  all  the  sweets  which  the  lady  said  she  had  "  put  up" 

with  her  own  hands.  Mr.  B ,  the  girls  and  I  scarcely 

said  a  word,  and  for  myself  I  was  content  to  listen  to 
the  principal  personages,  who  seemed  mutually  pleased 
with  one  another. 

At  the  end  of  an  hour  we  returned  to  the  parlor.  Mrs. 
B stopped  at  the  little  round  table  and  asked  the  ge 
neral  to  sit  near  her.  The  girls  passed  across  the  room 
and  placed  themselves  side  by  side  in  chairs  against  the 
wall.  I  had  the  courage  to  draw  out  another  chair  and 
wheel  it  into  such  a  position  that  by  turning  my  face  to 

the  right  I  could  see  Mrs.  B and  to  the  left  the 

"  darters."  Mr.  B took  a  seat  by  himself.  The  girls 

were  so  ruddy  and  healthful  that,  notwithstanding  their 
silence  at  the  tea-table,  I  supposed  I  should  easily  get 
them  to  talk ;  but  in  this  I  was  sadly  mistaken.  I  began 
by  asking  them  questions  about  themselves  and  their 
home,  but  they  answered  by  monosyllables.  Then  I  spoke 
of  myself,  my  travels  and  adventures,  which  awakened  no 
interest.  Then  I  referred  to  churches,  theatres,  plays,  and 
sports,  and  schools,  but  all  in  vain.  Finally  I  discussed 
novels  and  quoted  poetry,  and  of  all  I  hit  upon  there  was 
only  one  thing  that  either  of  them  knew,  and  that  was  a 
stanza  from  one  of  Watts's  hymns. 

Being  absolutely  discouraged,  I  sat  musing  in  silence  on 
the  power  of  that  woman  who  was  entertaining  my  chief. 

The  unceasing  pressure  of  her  will  had  arrested  the  men 
tal  developments  of  her  offspring,  and  she  had  henpecked 


28  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

her  husband  to  a  nonentity.  Her  children  were  probably 
not  deficient  in  natural  capacity,  but  their  aspirations  and 
individuality  had  been  alike  repressed  and  blasted.  Fond, 
selfish  mothers  often  overwhelm  their  daughters  with 
such  pernicious  watchings,  and  instead  of  studying  their 
bent  by  fostering  the  guardian  virtues  and  allowing  the 
swelling  buds  of  youth  to  expand  in  beautiful  flowers, 
they  hedge  them  in  with  frigid  cautions,  which  are  as  fatal 
to  loveliness  as  the  sting  of  the  worm  that  kills  the  tender 
shrub 

"  Ere  it  can  spread  its  sweet  leaves  to  the  air," 
Or  dedicate  its  beauty  to  the  sun." 

At  about  9  o'clock  my  uneasiness  was  relieved  by  the 

general,  who  rose  to  depart.     Mrs.  B followed  him 

into  the  hall  and  continued  her  prattle.  She  threatened 
to  inflict  upon  him  a  long  front-door  discussion,  which  is 
one  of  the  greatest  of  all  social  pests,  but  he  forced  his 
way  out.  If  my  worst  enemy  could  establish  that  I  had 
ever  in  mixed  company  been  found  within  a  house  at  the 
end  of  one  minute  after  I  had  signified  that  "  I  must  go," 
my  courage  should  fail  and  I  would  confront  the  social 
world- no  longer.  Once  in  the  carriage  I  found  that  the 
general,  instead  of  being  in  a  sulk,  as  I  expected,  was  in 
a  glee.  He  praised  the  tea-table  and  the  house  and  its 
mistress,  who  he  thought  was  a  first-class  manager,  upon 
which  I  remarked :  "And  what  haste  she  made  to  enter 
tain  you."  At  this  the  general  laughed  heartily  and  said : 
"  But  where  was  the  good  man  of  the  house  ?  did  you 
see  him  after  tea  ?  "  "  Yes,"  said  I,  "  he  came  into  the 
parlor  and  sat  down." 

"  I  didn't  observe  him — when  did  he  go  out  ?  " 
"  Ah,  that  is  more  than  I  can  tell ;  but  I  am  equally  sure 
that  he  came  into  the  parlor,  and  that  he  was  not  there 
when  we  left." 


Scotfs  Views  of  Marriage.  29 

The  foregoing  account  of  our  visit  is  strictly  true  as  re 
gards  its  essential  facts,  but  I  have  condensed  the  conver 
sations,  interwoven  a  few  moral  reflections,  and  added 
certain  flourishes  of  my  own  with  a  view  to  give  effect  to 
the  most  striking  example  of  high-principled  petticoat 
government  that  I  have  known. 

General  Scott's  character  as  a  man  of  gallantry  could 
not  be  justly  estimated  without  knowing  his  views  of 
married  life.  At  about  the  age  of  30  he  was  wedded  to 
a  young  Virginia  lady,  who  was  widely  celebrated  for  her 
beauty  and  wit.  When  I  came  to  know  her  and  to  enjoy 
the  benefits  of  her  society  she  was  in  the  full  maturity 
of  her  faculties,  and  although  it  has  chanced  to  me  to  en 
joy  the  acquaintance  of  many  of  the  grandest  and  most 
gifted  dames  of  all  the  Christian  nations  of  the  world,  I 
remember  none  who,  in  breeding  and  accomplishments, 
were  the  superior  of  Mrs.  Scott.  Her  husband  always  re 
ferred  to  her  with  pride  and  affection,  but  as  he  and  she 
were  each  the  centre  of  attraction  to  great  numbers  of 
people,  they  were  often  separated.  As  old  age  approached, 
Mrs.  Scott,  although  she  was  by  nature  strong  and  en 
during,  declined  in  health,  and  as  she  found  herself  better 
in  Europe  than  in  America,  she  passed  the  closing  years 
of  her  life  abroad,  where  she  died.  The  animadversions 
upon  their  frequent  separation  were  always  much  exag 
gerated.  I  shall  never  forget  Mrs.  Scott's  kindness  to 
me,  nor  her  numerous  acts  of  social  beneficence  and 
charity,  which  I  often  witnessed. 

Many  of  General  Scott's  frequent  references  to  matri 
mony  were  doubtless  sportive,  but  no  one  could  be 
habitually  near  him  and  not  conclude  that  in  his  opinion 
marriage  is  not  promotive  of  human  happiness.  He  often 
quoted  Dr.  Johnson's  expression,  "  It  cannot  be  denied 
that  there  is  in  the  world  much  connubial  infelicity."  In 


3O  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

Johnson's  writings  we  find  other  sentences  of  the  same 
import,  but  it  is  certain  that  he  loved  his  own  ugly  wife, 
and  that  he  is  the  author  of  the  following  maxim,  which 
offsets  his  innumerable  slurs  upon  the  institution  which  he 
so  strongly  commends:  "Marriage  is  the  best  state  of 
man  in  general,  and  every  man  is  a  worse  man  in  propor 
tion  as  he  is  unfit  for  the  married  state." 

At  one  time  we  had  before  us  an  engraving  to  represent 
Dr.  Johnson  reading  Goldsmith's  manuscript  of  the  Vicar 
of  Wakefield.  Johnson  holds  the  writing  close  to  his 
eyes ;  Goldsmith  sits  near  in  his  dressing  gown  and  looks 
anxious,  while  his  landlady  stands  in  the  doorway,  which 
she  fills  full.  I  said  to  the  general:  "  Goldy  looks  anxious, 
for  he  knows  if  the  doctor  don't  approve  his  book,  so 
that  he  can  sell  it  and  pay  his  board  bill,  that  he  will  be 
turned  out  of  doors."  "  No,  sir,"  said  the  general,  "his 
landlady  has  threatened  that  if  he  don't  pay  his  board 
he  must  marry  her.  His  anxiety  is  not  to  pay,  but 
to  escape  the  fangs  of  matrimony."  He  repeated  :  "  Yes, 
sir,  he  must  pay  his  board  bill  or  be  clutched  in  the 
fangs  of  matrimony." 

I  could  always  amuse  my  chief  by  quotations  to  show 
the  unhappiness  and  disappointments  of  matrimony. 
Shakespeare  says  : 

"  War  is  no  discord  to  the  unquiet  house, 
And  the  detested  wife." 

But  the  great  bard  has  reference  to  a  bad  wife,  which  is  a 
fearful  infliction. 

I  once  restored  him  to  good  humor  by  quoting  from 
Burton's  "  Anatomy  of  Melancholy."  It  was  at  a  time 
when  he  was  aspiring  to  the  Presidential  nomination. 
One  of  his  opposing  candidates  was  rich,  but  his  wife  was 
old,  peevish,  and  sickly.  The  general,  after  summing  up 


Marriage  in  the  Army.  31 

his  rival's  qualifications  in  his  usual  style  of  depreciation 
in  such  cases,  added  :  "  And  yet  this  man  can  get  money 
and  is  very  rich ;  the  public  turn  their  eyes  up  at  him." 

At  this  point  I  interjected  my  quotation.  "  General," 
said  I,  "  if  you  would  envy  Euphorion  his  big  fortune, 
you  must  be  willing  to  take  his  old  wife  with  it."  The 
fitness  of  my  allusion  dispelled  his  irritation,  and  he 
laughed  and  changed  the  subject. 

The  marriage  of  young  officers  of  the  army,  which  was 
probably  more  frequent  than  it  is  now,  was  the  subject  of 
his  constant  animadversion.  He  thought  there  should  be 
a  law  to  restrain  and  regulate  the  marriage  of  officers  of 
the  army  and  navy,  as  there  is  in  France  and  some  other 
countries.  In  France  a  dotation  for  the  bride  is  pre 
scribed  and  is  held  by  the  government,  the  interest  only 
being  paid  to  her  during  her  life. 

The  temerity  of  young  graduates  from  the  Military 
Academy  was  often  a  subject  of  amazement  to  old  offi 
cers.  It  was  not  unusual  to  see  a  second  lieutenant,  four 
months  after  graduating,  start  off  for  Council  Bluffs, 
Laramie,  or  Fort  Towson,  or  Fort  Leavenworth,  any  one 
of  which  at  that  time  was  nearly  as  inaccessible  as  is  the 
source  of  the  Amazon,  carrying  with  him  two  large  brass- 
bound  trunks,  and  a  wife  bigger  and  sometimes  older 
than  himself. 

As  the  whole  income  of  the  pair  was  only  $62.50  per 
month,  the  bride  in  her  far-away  home  was  obliged  to  do 
her  own  housework.  General  Scott  often  told  me  that 
he  had  many  times  seen  the  wives  of  officers  stationed  at 
these  remote  posts  at  the  washtub,  with  their  sleeves 
rolled  up.  Some  of  these  strange  combinations  produced 
large  families  of  children,  which  fact  convinces  us  that,  if 
Heaven  were  not  merciful,  there  would  be  more  paupers 
than  there  are  in  the  world. 


32  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

Notwithstanding  his  flings  at  marriage,  the  general 
took  a  special  interest  in  the  engagements  of  his  young 
friends.  When  I  first  proposed  and  was  accepted,  he 
was  the  first  person  to  whom  I  disclosed  that  most  fortu 
nate  event  of  my  life.  On  the  day  following  we  were 
alone  in  the  office,  and  I  said : 

"  General,  I  have  some  news  to  tell  you." 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  said  he. 

"  I'm  engaged  to  be  married !  " 

"  Engaged  to  be  married,"  said  he,  holding  up  both  his 
hands.  "To  whom?" 

"  To  Miss  Caroline  M.  Clarke." 

"  Who  is  Miss  Caroline  M.  Clarke,  and  where  is  she 
from?" 

"  She  is  the  youngest  daughter  of  a  retired  lawyer  of 
New  York,  and  she  lives  in  Brooklyn."  Then  I  added  a 
florid  description  of  my  intended,  which  caused  my  chief 
to  smile.  He  wished  to  know  how  I  became  acquainted 
with  Miss  Clarke.  I  told  him  it  was  by  accident,  and  as 
follows : 

I  was  living  far  up  Broadway,  and  had  a  parlor  and  bed 
room  in  the  third  story  of  a  house  which  is  still  standing. 
In  the  same  house  resided  with  her  mother  a  young,  accom 
plished  girl,who  was  the  cousin  of  an  Episcopal  clergyman's 
daughter  of  New  York,  who  was  also  the  cousin  of  Miss 
Clarke.  The  three  young  ladies  found  themselves  to 
gether  in  the  parlor  below  mine,  at  9  o'clock  in  the  even 
ing,  dressed  for  a  party,  and  accompanied  by  a  single 
beau.  The  mother  of  the  resident  came  up  to  my  room, 
and  requested  me  to  come  down  u  and  see  a  beautiful 
sight."  I  descended  in  haste,  was  introduced  to  Miss 
Clarke,  and  was  captivated  on  the  instant.  Her  aunt 
suggested  that  I  should  join  the  company  and  go  with 
them.  I  consented,  dressed  in  a  hurry,  handed  Miss  Clarke 


Scott  and  the  Phrenologist.  33 

to  her  carriage,  and  at  the  ball,  which  was  full  of  beauty, 
I  devoted  my  exclusive  attentions  to  her.  Those  atten 
tions  led  to  my  marriage  with  her. 

I  begged  the  general  not  to  speak  of  what  I  had  told 
him,  but  instead  of  promising  me  not  to  do  so,  he  con 
tinued  to  talk  with  me  in  a  jocular  strain  till  I  left.  I 
went  directly  to  my  lodgings,  remained  there  about  ten 
minutes,  and  then  I  proceeded  to  make  a  call  at  the  house 
of  Mr.  Charles  King,  in  Bleecker  Street.  When  I  rang  at 
the  door  it  was  not  a  minute  over  an  hour  since  I  had  left 
my  chief,  and  he  was  the  only  one  in  the  city,  as  I  sup 
posed,  who  knew  my  secret.  What  was  then  my  dismay 
on  entering  to  be  met  with  the  noisy  salutations  of  four 
or  five  ladies,  who  called  out  together :  "  So  you  are  en 
gaged  to  be  married,  Mr.  Keyes !  When  is  the  wedding 
to  come  off?  Is  she  good-looking?  "  etc.,  etc. 

They  refused  to  tell  me  how  they  knew  I  was  engaged, 
and  it  was  a  considerable  time  before  I  learned.  It  turned 
out  that  the  general  left  the  office  shortly  after  I  did,  and 
by  chance  he  met  Mrs.  King,  who  was  on  her  way  home, 
told  her  I  was  engaged  to  be  married,  and  she  arrived 
only  fifteen  minutes  in  advance  of  me. 

Before  summing  up  his  claims  as  a  man  of  gallantry,  I 
will  relate  an  incident  which  provoked  in  me  an  exclama 
tory  quotation  that  came  near  bringing  upon  me  a  rebuke 
for  coarseness.  I  escaped  the  rebuke,  but  gave  occasion 
for  a  remarkable  declaration  from  the  general.  While 
the  English  Professor  Coombe  was  in  America,  he  en 
joyed  great  repute  as  a  craniologist.  One  day  the  gen 
eral  went  without  me,  and  had  his  head  examined.  On 
his  return  he  gave  me  the  card  on  which  his  bumps  were 
classified.  Nearly  all  the  numbers  were  high,  and  when 
I  saw  the  highest  mark  for  the  sexual  instinct,  I  exclaimed, 
"  Why,  General,  he  has  marked  you  maximum  for  amative- 
2* 


34  Fifty  Years1  Observation. 

ness  !  I  suppose  you  never  felt  the  stings  and  motions  of 
the  sense.'*  Half  of  my  exclamation  was  out  before  I 
looked  up  and  saw  a  cloud  on  his  brow.  It  did  not  break, 
however,  and  the  general,  who  was  standing,  raised  his 
hand,  and  with  an  air  and  attitude  of  profound  solemnity 
said  :  "  The  professor  did  not  mistake  me,  but  I  have  al 
ways  curbed  my  mutinous  appetites.  Since  my  wedding 
day  I  never  violated  my  marriage  vow,  nor  did  I  ever  give 
a  human  being  cause  to  imagine  that  I  desired  to  violate 
it.  I  pledge  my  soul,  my  honor  and  my  life  that  all  I 
now  say  is  strictly  true."  Without  his  grand  asseveration, 
I  should  have  conceded  to  General  Scott  the  entire 
credit  of  an  absolute  purity  of  life  and  conversation;  and 
we  may  conclude  with  certainty  that  he  never  had  an 
intrigue,  and  that  against  the  dribbling  darts  of  love  he 
preserved  a  complete  bosom. 

Before  announcing  my  own  judgment  of  the  general's 
claims  to  gallantry,  I  submitted  some  of  the  proofs  I  have 
given  above  to  one  of  my  lady  acquaintances.  The  per 
son  selected  for  reference  is  rich  in  the  guarded  treasures 
of  womanhood,  balanced  in  judgment,  in  form  and  man 
ners  most  attractive,  and  deeply  skilled  in  the  alchemy  of 
the  heart.  She  delivered  her  opinion  in  such  gracious 
language  and  lucid  illustrations,  as  would  have  won  me 
from  a  false  conclusion,  but  which,  as  she  coincided  with 
mine,  deserves  to  be  accepted  as  conclusive.  She  declared 
that  a  gentleman  of  such  a  position  and  with  the  oppor 
tunities  for  observation  enjoyed  by  General  Scott,  and 
who  had  never  acknowledged  the  empire  of  a  single 
woman  to  usurp  his  will,  to  cheer  his  spirit  and  to  rule 
his  conduct,  could  not  be  considered  a  man  of  gallantry ; 
and  such  is  my  decision. 

The  lack  of  those  qualities  which  entitle  a  man  to  be 
called  gallant  caused  General  Scott  to  prefer  the  society 


Scott's  Lack  of  Gallantry.  35 

of  his  own  to  that  of  the  opposite  sex — consequently  he 
missed  the  highest  grade  of  social  enjoyment,  which  can 
only  be  found  in  the  company  of  enlightened,  high-bred 
ladies.  I  doubt  if  he  ever  comprehended  the  meaning,  or 
felt  the  ecstatic  delight  of  those  feminine  euphonies  which 
proclaim  the  touch  of  hearts,  such  as — "  Did  you  miss 
me  ?  "— "  Did  you  think  of  me  ?  "— "  You  don't  mean  it !  " 
and  other  similar  pearls  of  speech,  which  to  a  man  of  true 
gallantry  constitute  the  spice  of  life. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Scott  as  a  scholar,  and  a  man  of  reading. — His  education. — His  studies  of 
law. — Public  men  of  his  time. — His  fondness  for  philology. — Knowledge 
of  French. — Criticisms  upon  various  authors. — Mathematics. — Scott's 
favorite  quotations. — His  association  with  learned  men. 

AS  I  intend  to  pass  in   view  all  the  characteristics  of 
General   Scott's    career,   and    to    illustrate   it    by 
speeches  and  events  anterior  to  his  old  age,  and  without 
a  chronological  order,  I  will  now  describe  him  as  a  scholar 
and  man  of  reading. 

He  was  well  educated,  although  he  did  not  complete 
his  college  course,  and  he  preserved  throughout  his  life 
the  habit  of  a  constant  and  general  reader.  He  studied 
common,  civil,  statute  and  military  law,  and  gave  great 
attention  to  international  law,  and  was  familiar  with  the 
works  of  all  its  standard  writers.  While  he  was  engaged 
in  pacifying  the  Canadian  troubles,  and  settling  the  North 
eastern  and  Northwestern  boundaries,  I  enjoyed  all 
the  frequent  discussions  between  him  and  many  other 
eminent  men,  among  the  principal  of  whom  were  Presi 
dent  Van  Buren,  Mr.  Webster,  Mr.  Poinsett,  Mr.  Preston, 
Governor  Marcy,  Mr.  John  C.  Spencer,  Mr.  John  J.  Crit- 
tenden,  Mr.  John  Van  Buren,  son  of  the  President,  Mr. 
Gouverneur  Kemble,  Governor  Edward  Everett,  Mr. 
Harrison  Gray  Otis,  Mr.  Jeremiah  Mason,  Mr.  Ogden 
Hoffman,  Mr.  Charles  King,  Governor  Fairfield,  Senator 
Evans,  Sir  John  Caldwell,  on  the  part  of  Sir  John  Harvey, 
and  many  others. 


Orators  of* the  Time.  37 

What  floods  of  light  those  mighty  minds  poured  upon 
their  subject !  Webster,  Otis,  and  Mason  I  only  heard 
twice  each.  The  first  seemed  like  Juggernaut  rolling  on 
to  crush  everything.  The  last  two  were  like  giants  in  de 
cline  :  the  light  they  shed  resembled  the  slant  rays  of  the 
setting  sun — warm,  but  void  of  scintillation.  Spencer's 
arguments  were  forcible,  at  the  same  time  subtle  as  com 
ing  from  a  nature  that  was  essentially  cold  and  as  sombre 
as  the  caverns  of  the  deep.  Marcy  was  among  the  most 
powerful,  but  he  was  homely  in  speech,  and,  notwith 
standing  his  ability  and  learning  in  law  and  statesman 
ship,  he  was  not  genial  to  me,  and  there  were  certain 
traits  of  the  politician  in  him  that  I  did  not  like.  Presi 
dent  Van  Buren  was  both  polished  and  able  in  an  uncom 
mon  degree,  and  when  he  discussed  our  relations  with  the 
Indians,  and  with  England,  although  he  was  the  Chief 
Magistrate,  he  showed  less  dogmatism  than  many  others 
who  had  no  authority  whatever.  Preston,  Hoffman,  King 
and  Everett  dressed  their  redundant  explanations  in  a 
flowery  diction,  and  gained  audience  by  their  charms  of 
voice  and  manner.  In  Mr.  Preston  I  saw  in  perfection 
the  slaveholder's  grace  of  movement  and  frankness  of  in 
tercourse.  Hoffman  was  negligent  in  dress  and  careless 
in  manners,  but  in  the  sonorous  sweetness  of  his  voice 
and  the  amplification  of  his  arguments  he  stood  un 
rivalled.  Everett  and  King  were  stately  in  appearance, 
and  elegantly  precise  in  manner.  Everett's  voice  was 
good,  and,  notwithstanding  his  ready  fluency  of  speech,  I 
never  heard  him  utter  a  sentence  that  needed  correction 
for  the  press.  Both  these  men  were  polished  scholars. 
Crittenden,  whose  vocalization  was  superb,  was  remark 
able  for  the  skill  with  which  he  could  marshal  his  illus 
trations,  a  skill  which  gained  him  repute  as  the  most  able 
debater  in  Congress.  He,  too,  was  seldom  neatly  dressed, 


38  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

and  he  chewed  tobacco  and  spat  constantly.  It  would 
have  been  well  for  Mr.  Crittenden  if  he  had  played  the 
man  of  fashion  a  few  years  in  his  youth.  It  would  cer 
tainly  have  improved  his  personal  appearance  and  habits 
of  spitting,  but  it  might  have  deprived  him  of  his  com 
mon  sense.  The  school  of  fashion  is  beneficial  to  an  ora 
tor  who  -  aspires  also  to  be  a  gentleman,  but  if  he  re 
mains  in  it  too  long,  and  is  a  slave  to  it  he  will  waste  him 
self  and  die  young,  or  live  in  discontent.  Sir  John  Cald- 
well,  who  came  to  see  General  Scott  as  the  representative 
of  Sir  John  Harvey,  who  was  the  lieutenant-governor  of 
New  Brunswick,  had  much  to  say  upon  the  subject  of  in 
ternational  law.  He  was  clever  enough,  but  stolid  in 
manner  and  appearance.  Generally  non-concurrent,  he 
displayed  to  perfection  the  traditional  British  oppug- 
nancy.  Scott,  although  he  was  not  habituated  to  public 
discussions,  was  the  peer  of  the  most  able  of  them  all  in 
knowledge  of  his  subject.  The  effect  of  all  these  learned 
disputes  upon  me  was  to  excite  admiration  for  the  inge 
nuity  of  the  speakers.  I  was,  however,  convinced  that  in 
ternational  law,  if  it  is  an  admirable  subject  for  debate 
among  diplomatists,  is  but  of  small  moment  to  the  na 
tion  which  has  power  to  protect  its  own  frontiers  from  in 
vasion,  and  spirited  enough  to  give  an  easy  feeling  to  its 
merchants  and  to  its  own  citizens  abroad. 

The  general  had  an  excessive  fondness  for  philology,  and 
it  was  his  study  to  find  the  exact  meaning  of  words  and 
their  correct  pronunciation.  Johnson  and  Walker  were  his 
standard  authorities,  and  one  day  when  he  went  to  place 
his  daughter  at  a  boarding-school,  seeing  Webster's 
Dictionary  lying  on  the  table,  he  retired  before  the  lady 
came  in,  and  placed  his  daughter  at  another  establish 
ment.  I  was  subject  to  his  instruction  fifteen  years  and 
more,  and  whenever  he  heard  me  mispronounce  a  word 


Scott  on  French  Literature.  39 

he  would  correct  me  wherever  we  might  be.  Many  times 
did  he  call  out  and  repeat  the  word,  giving  its  correct 
pronunciation,  although  at  a  dinner  party  and  ten  files 
from  me.  While  we  were  travelling  at  the  North  and  so 
journing  at  hotels  with  Governor  M ,  he  thought  I 

was  becoming  negligent,  and  he  corrected  me  with  annoy 
ing  frequency.  I  took  an  opportunity  when  the  governor 
was  absent  and  said  :  "  General,  you  can't  teach  me  faster 
than  I  can  learn  ;  suppose  you  give  a  few  lessons  to 

Governor  M ."   "  Ah  !  "  said  he,  "that's  an  unweeded 

garden ;  life's  too  short  to  clear  it."  I  agreed  with  my 
instructor  in  most  cases,  but  in  regard  to  a  few  words  I 
was  refractory.  He  insisted  on  cowcumber,  and  said  it 
must  be  dark,  or  die ;  but  I  continued  to  say  cucumber 
and  clerk.  He  undertook  to  weed  out  many  of  my 
peculiar  forms  of  expression,  and  all  the  windy  epithets  of 
my  colloquial  discourses,  but  I  resisted.  If  I  had  com 
plied,  I  should  have  missed  his  peculiar  attractions,  and 
might  have  become  as  didactic  and  uninteresting  as  a 
guide-board. 

The  general  was  in  France  directly  after  the  battle  of 
Waterloo,  and  remained  there  nearly  a  year.  He  had  not 
learned  to  speak  the  language  of  that  country  in  his  boy 
hood,  but  he  could  read  it  fluently,  and  from  books  and 
observation  he  acquired  an  extended  knowledge  of 
France,  its  people,  and  their  literature.  He  was  familiar 
with  many  French  works  on  military  science,  as  well  as 
memoirs,  chronicles,  histories,  etc.  He  translated  for  our 
army  the  French  system  of  Infantry  Tactics,  and  was 
profoundly  learned  in  the  campaigns  of  Turenne,  Conde, 
Saxe,  Frederick  the  Great,  by  Jomini,  Napoleon,  and 
others.  I  frequently  heard  him  make  general  compari 
sons  between  the  English  and  French  writers  of  the  past 
centuries.  He  placed  Addison  and  Johnson  above  all 


40  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

Frenchmen  as  essayists,  but  he  thought  the  letters  of 
Geuz  de  Balzac  and  Blaize  Pascal  superior  to  any  in  the 
English  language.  The  writers  of  French  memoirs,  for 
which  he  had  a  special  fondness,  he  placed  above  all 
others.  He  admired  some  of  the  writings  of  Voltaire, 
especially  his  histories  and  romances.  He  seldom  spoke 
of  French  theology  or  poetry,  which  he  did  not  under 
stand.  It  appears  to  me  that  no  American  or  English 
man  can  find  pleasure  in  French  poetry.  I  have  never 
met  one  who  confessed  a  fondness  for  more  than  a  few 
lines  of  it.  Voltaire  thought  that  Racine's  "Athalie  "  was 
the  greatest  effort  of  the  human  mind.  I  have  tried  four 
times  to  read  Athalie,  but  never  succeeded  in  finishing  it. 
During  the  last  ten  years  I  have  been  intimately  associ 
ated  with  one  of  the  most  gifted  and  accomplished 
Frenchmen  that  lives.  When  we  are  together  he  sympa 
thizes  with  me  for  not  knowing  Racine,  and  I  regard 
him  with  sorrow  because  he  cannot  comprehend  Shake 
speare.  Some  of  the  sprightly  and  refined  French  novels 
attracted  the  general,  as  did  Gil  Bias  in  a  moderate  de 
gree,  but  such  stuff  as  is  found  in  the  "  Chronique  de 
1'ceil  de  bceuf,"  and  in  the  works  of  Paul  de  Kock  and 
his  successors,  disgusted  him,  as  they  ought  to  disgust 
every  healthy  mind. 

Among  English  standard  writers,  General  Scott  was 
always  at  home.  I  held  in  equal  esteem  many  of  his 
favorite  authors,  especially  Addison,  Shakespeare,  Milton, 
Johnson,  and  Goldsmith.  Dryden,  whom  he  so  much 
admired,  never  strongly  attracted  me.  His  favorite  Eng 
lish  historians  were  Hume  and  Gibbon.  Of  the  writers  of 
fiction  and  romance,  he  often  referred  to  Fielding,  Gold 
smith,  Walter  Scott,  Cooper,  Irving,  and  occasionally  to 
Bulwer.  To  the  current  fashionable  novels  and  all  the 
stories  of  love  he  paid  no  attention  whatsoever.  He  es- 


The  Newspapers.  41 

teemed  Adam  Smith  and  Locke,  and  agreed  with  Hobbes 
that  war  is  the  natural  state  of  man.  He  had  no  faith  in 
peace  societies  and  congresses,  and  spoke  of  them  with 
contempt  as  composed  of  fanatics  and  visionaries.  The 
works  of  infidel  writers  he  disregarded.  He  read  the 
English  and  American  periodicals  habitually,  and  studied 
the  newspapers  with  the  diligence  of  a  politician.  It 
astonished  me  to  see  him  read  through  those  long  arti 
cles  in  the  old  Richmond  Whig  and  Richmond  Enquirer, 
written  by  doctrinaires  of  the  Southern  school ;  but  he 
could  not  read  the  shorter  articles  of  Northern  doctrinaires 
in  the  journals  of  the  Puritan  stripe,  which  at  that  time  I 
could  read.  Now  I  can  read  neither,  and  think  the  one  class 
as  remote  from  good  government  and  good  policy  as  the 
other.  I  could  not  see  in  the  prevailing  ideas  of  those  old 
Richmond  papers  any  coherence  with  his  present  opinions, 
and  I  concluded  his  fondness  for  them  was  the  result  of 
early  associations  and  local  partiality.  He  certainly  was 
not  a  Secessionist. 

When  Carlyle's  works  first  appeared  in  America  it 
chanced  that  I  obtained  a  collection  of  articles  written  by 
him,  and  in  accordance  with  my  custom  I  let  every  one 
near  me  know  by  many  quotations  what  I  had  been  read 
ing.  The  general  appeared  ignorant  of  all  my  references, 
and  at  the  end  of  forty-eight  hours  he  broke  out  impa 
tiently  :  "  Who  is  the  man  Carlyle  that  you  are  boring 
me  about?  "  I  replied :  "  He  is  a  Scotchman  who  fancies 
he  is  going  to  make  a  noise  in  the  world."  The  next 
evening,  after  the  general  had  retired,  having  occasion  to 
ask  him  a  question,  I  went  to  his  room,  and  found  him 
in  bed  reading  Carlyle's  "  Miscellany."  At  that  time  I 
was  discursive  in  my  reading,  but  this  is  the  first  instance 
I  remember  of  getting  the  start  of  the  general  in  the  dis 
covery  of  an  English  author  of  merit.  He  was  curiously 


42  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

learned  in  title-pages  and  prefaces,  but  he  seldom  read 
through  the  books,  especially  works  of  fiction,  or  pure 
science  other  than  military. 

He  often  expressed  his  regret  to  me  that  he  had  not 
given  greater  attention  in  his  youth  to  the  study  of 
mathematics.  Once  when  he  had  succeeded  in  solving  a 
difficult  arithmetical  problem,  I  said  to  him  that  if  he 
had  devoted  himself  to  high  analysis  he  would  have 
gained  excellence,  but  he  would  have  dwarfed  his  ability 
to  move  men  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  he  would  also  have 
missed  the  plaudits  of  his  countrymen  which  had  been 
so  freely  lavished  upon  him.  I,  myself,  at  one  time  was 
enamoured  with  mathematical  studies.  When  I  discovered 
how  the  calculus  enabled  me  to  pry  into  the  mechanism 
of  the  starry  sphere,  to  follow  the  heavenly  bodies  in  their 
orbits,  to  estimate  their  influence  one  upon  the  other, 
and  to  find  how  the  Sovereign  Architect  has  balanced  the 
forces  of  the  universe,  I  was  awed  into  an  admiration 
which  tended  to  divert  me  from  human  sympathies,  and 
in  that  it  was  unpropitious.  It  may  frequently  be  re 
marked  of  the  devotees  to  analytical  investigations  that 
they  are  obdurate  and  unsocial  in  disposition,  and  narrow 
and  conceited  in  their  ideas  of  general  beneficence.  This 
seems  paradoxical,  since  astronomy,  if  studied  with  intel 
ligence,  ought  to  make  men  religious.  General  Scott, 
though  not  given  to  controversy,  was  fond  of  eloquent 
speeches,  especially  those  of  Southern  statesmen.  It  was 
also  an  agreeable  pastime  with  him  to  discuss  and  com 
pare  the  merits  and  peculiarities  of  various  authors.  Mil 
ton's  works  often  engaged  his  comments,  and  in  looking 
back  I  remember  that  I  fully  agreed  with  what  he  said  of 
that  writer,  his  prose,  his  poetry,  and  his  policy. 

Now,  when  I  reflect  that  General  Scott's  ethical  system 
was  that  of  Paley  and  Shakespeare,  I  am  not  able  to 


Dryden. — Milton.  43 

understand  how  he  so  generally  approved  Milton,  who  in 
most  things  was  unquestionably  a  fanatic.  Milton's  views 
of  human  government  are  such  as  attract  the  applause  of 
confiding  young  men,  and  of  the  idealogists  of  all  ages ; 
but  men  who  have  studied  human  nature  and  the  history 
of  nations  deeply,  with  the  aid  of  experience  in  affairs, 
wih  disapprove  him  in  everything  except  his  style  and 
his  imagination.  In  style  he  is  excellent,  and  in  imagi 
nation  he  is  without  a  peer  among  the  writers  of  ancient 
and  modern  times. 

The  general  found  attractions  in  Dryden's  poetry, 
which  he  knew  I  could  not  share  beyond  a  limited  de 
gree.  From  time  to  time  he  would  recite  passages  and 
ask  me  if  I  liked  them.  On  one  occasion  I  answered, 
"  Yes."  "  Then/'  said  he,  "  why  don't  you  like  Dryden?  " 

"  I  am  not  able  to  give  a  reason,  but  I  can  give  an  ex 
ample.  If  I  had  a  sweetheart  that  I  only  loved  when  I 
was  with  her,  that,"  said  I,  "  would  be  an  example." 

"  Ugh  !  "  exclaimed  he,  as  a  sign  that  he  disapproved 
my  taste  as  well  as  my  manner  of  showing  it. 

He  seldom  made  long  quotations  from  any  author. 
The  longest  as  well  as  the  most  frequent  of  all  his  quota 
tions  was  from  Milton's  Comus  : 

41  Mortals,  that  would  follow  me, 
Love  virtue  :  she  alone  is  free. 
She  can  teach  ye  how  to  climb 
Higher  than  the  starry  chime, 
Or  if  virtue  feeble  were, 
Heaven  itself  would  stoop  to  her." 

He  invariably  omitted  the  four  words  I  have  italicized, 
and  the  fondness  with  which  he  dwelt  on  those  lines  is  an 
additional  proof  that  in  his  nature  there  was  a  tincture  of 
fanaticism.  It  is  not  correct  to  say,  "  Mortals  love  vir 
tue,"  since  we  know  that  the  majority  of  mortals  are,  have 


44  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

been,  and  will  be  wicked.  Another  quotation  was  often 
on  his  tongue  when  he  felt  that  he  was  neglected  by  the 
government,  or  by  the  world,  as  he  frequently  did.  It  is 
strange  that  all  men  and  all  women  who  receive  the  most 
attention  complain  most  of  neglect.  Returning  from  a 
feast,  I  have  heard  him  recite  the  following  distich  : 

"  True  as  the  dial  to  the  sun 
Although  it  be  not  shined  upon." 

For  the  last  line  he  always  substituted  the  words 

"  Though  not  shone  upon." 

Short  quotations  and  many  ideas  from  Shakespeare 
interlarded  and  enlivened  his  daily  conversation,  and  a 
mind  like  his  could  not  fail  to  profit  by  the  teachings  of 
the  most  gifted  men  of  all  our  race.  I  owe  him  a  debt 
of  gratitude  for  having  first  turned  my  attention  sharply 
upon  that  king  of  poets,  as  he  did  in  the  following 
manner. 

One  Sunday,  as  we  were  walking  home  from  Saint 
Thomas'  Church,  in  New  York,  he  said  to  me :  "  Doctor 
Hawks  made  a  mistake  in  his  quotation  from  Shakes 
peare,  this  morning."  The  quotation  was  the  following, 
and  I  had  not  heard  it  before : 

"  *  *  *  the  time  of  life  is  short ! 
To  spend  that  shortness  basely  were  too  long 
If  life  did  ride  upon  a  dial's  point, 
Still  ending  with  the  arrival  of  an  hour." 

I  made  no  note  of  the  mistake,  but  those  lines  coming 
from  the  eloquent  lips  of  Dr.  Hawks,  and  the  suggestion 
of  my  chief,  inflamed  me  with  a  desire  to  study  their  au 
thor,  whose  ability  to  express  all  the  emotions  of  our  nat 
ure  in  every  possible  condition  of  human  life  has  placed 
him  at  the  head  of  uninspired  men.  The  general  had 
studied  the  works  of  the  mighty  bard  so  deeply  that  his 


Scott's  Heroes.  45 

language  came  to  his  lips  as  it  were  spontaneously,  and 
thus  he  was  able  to  impart  to  his  discourse  an  additional 
interest,  although  its  subjects  were  often  trifles. 

In  his  younger  days  the  general  had  read  Plutarch's 
Lives  so  attentively  that  their  influence  upon  his  charac 
ter  and  conduct  was  always  apparent.  His  body's  action 
he  modelled  upon  Coriolanus,  but  the  spirit  that  fasci 
nated  him  most  was  that  of  the  mighty  Julius.  Like 
the  first  he  could  never  bend  low  enough  in  politics  to 
gain  the  applause  of  the  mob,  but  like  the  second  he 
sought  always  to  be  first  in  power  and  renown.  He 
claimed  a  certain  near  relationship  in  virtue  to  the  Catos, 
but  there  was  nothing  in  his  nature  which  tended  to  sui 
cide.  He  thought  he  would  be  able  to  struggle  in  neg 
lect  and  adversity,  like  Scipio  Africanus  or  Sertorius,  but 
he  found  little  to  admire  in  old  Marius,  whom  he  likened 
to  a  savage,  ungrateful  beast,  as  he  was. 

He  was  excessively  fond  of  comparing  his  own  qualities 
of  greatness  with  those  of  other  distinguished  men  of 
modern  as  well  as  ancient  times.  He  compared  himself 
most  frequently  with  the  great  military  commanders  of 
the  world's  history,  and  three  times,  on  various  occasions, 
did  I  hear  General  Scott  say,  while  he  was  yet  in  his 
vigor,  that  he  thought  himself  "  next  to  Washington  with 
many  lengths  between."  Once  he  said  "  with  many  links 
perhaps  between."  In  this  he  was  partially  mistaken,  as 
it  was  only  in  conscientiousness  and  patriotism  that  the 
two  men  resembled  each  other.  Scott,  before  old  age 
came  upon  him,  observed  the  precept — "  Spend  as  you 
go,"  while  V/ashington,  always  till  his  death,  was  exceed 
ingly  watchful  of  his  pecuniary  interests.  If  he  had  been 
a  New  England  man  he  would  have  been  accused  of  nar 
rowness  and  jobbery.  Washington's  patriotism,  aristo 
cratic  bearing,  and  constancy  secured  to  him  the  confi- 


46  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

dence  of  his  poor  suffering  countrymen,  but  he  lacked 
enthusiasm.  He  could  never  have  inflamed  the  courage 
of  his  soldiers,  nor  animated  them  on  the  march  and  in 
battle,  while  the  presence  of  Scott  sufficed  to  lift  the  tired 
soldier  from  his  feet,  and  to  hurl  cowards  against  the 
enemy.  There  was  never  any  facetiousness  in  the  con 
versation  nor  levity  in  the  conduct  of  Washington,  and  if 
Stuart's  portrait  of  him  is  true  to  nature  he  must  have 
been  heavy  to  look  upon,  and  dull  as  a  companion.  Scott 
thought  it  an  accomplishment  to  be  able  to  trifle  ele 
gantly,  and  he  often  indulged  in  extravagant  speeches  and 
colloquial  exaggerations,  all  of  which  he  could  dismiss 
upon  the  slightest  call  to  duty,  and  assume,  on  the  in 
stant,  a  dignity  and  severity  equal  to  that  of  the  Father 
of  his  country — without  his  gloom.  It  seems  superfluous, 
however,  to  compare  the  genius  of  any  man  with  that  of 
Washington,  since  around  his  head  the  prescriptive  ap 
proval  of  his  countrymen  has  gathered  a  halo  through 
which  no  imperfection  could  be  seen.  Washington's 
strategy,  if  it  was  his,  which  caused  the  convergence  of 
the  forces  on  Yorktown,  in  1781,  would  entitle  him  to 
rank  with  the  greatest  strategists  of  modern  times.  Scott, 
who  never  enjoyed  a  similar  opportunity,  cannot  be  com 
pared  in  that  respect,  but  otherwise  as  a  tactician  he  was 
unquestionably  superior. 

Metaphysical  subjects  had  no  special  attraction  for 
General  Scott,  but  he  enjoyed  his  conversations  with  men 
of  learning,  like  Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams,  Rev.  Wm. 
Ellery  Channing,  Dr.  Hawks,  and  Mr.  Charles  King,  upon 
subjects  of  "  high  morality,"  as  he  called  it.  While  we 
were  in  Boston,  at  a  dinner  given  him  by  that  venerable 
merchant  prince,  Thomas  H.  Perkins,  he  was  placed  next 
to  Dr.  Channing.  My  seat  at  the  table  was  too  distant 
to  enable  me  to  understand  them,  but  I  observed  that  the 


Dr.  Channing.  47 

general  was  an  attentive  listener.  They  presented  a  sin 
gular  contrast — a  giant  warrior  listening  with  deference 
to  a  puny  preacher,  whose  frail  body  excited  compassion. 
His  learning  and  eloquence,  which  were  ennobled  by  a 
spirit  of  benevolence,  secured  to  Dr.  Channing  a  profound 
respect  even  from  those  men  who  could  not  agree  with  his 
theology  and  his  restrictive  code  of  morals.  Returning 
from  the  dinner  the  general  told  me  the  subject  of  their 
conversation  was  the  Grecian  Philosophy,  and  he  fancied 
he  had  been  spending  the  evening  with  Anaxagoras.  It 
was  on  the  same  occasion  that  he  compared  two  great 
cities  by  saying:  "New  York  in  comparison  with  Boston 
is  a  barbarian  city !" 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Scott's  habits,  pleasures,  and  diversions. — His  prompt  discharge  of  duty.— 
His  servant. — Anecdotes  of  David. — His  gardening  and  care  of  domestic 
animals. — Fondness  for  chess  and  whist. 

SCOTT'S  mental,  physical,  and  moral  nature  con 
spired  to  form  in  him  a  habit  of  promptness  and 
constancy  in  the  discharge  of  all  his  duties.  He  foresaw 
the  requirements  of  his  professional  and  pecuniary  en 
gagements,  and  attended  to  them  fully.  Until  the  duty 
to  be  done  and  the  task  in  hand  were  executed  and  com 
pletely  finished,  he  would  allow  himself  neither  rest  nor 
pleasure  night  or  day,  in  sickness  or  in  health. 

He  required  to  be  waited  upon,  to  be  observed,  and  to 
be  attended  without  intermission,  and  his  body  servant 
was  to  be  always  within  call.  He  occasionally  excused 
himself  for  this  last  necessity  from  the  fact  that  his  left 
arm  was  partially  disabled  by  a  terrible  wound  he  received 
at  Lundy's  Lane.  He  had  many  wants,  however,  that 
had  no  essential  connection  with  his  shoulder-joint.  He 
chewed  tobacco,  and  his  tobacco  must  be  kept  at  a 
certain  moisture,  be  brought  to  'him  and  taken  away.  He 
often  needed  a  glass  of  water,  and  while  he  suffered  from 
a  renal  affection  the  water  must  be  dashed  with  a  tea- 
spoonful  of  gin.  After  his  return  from  Mexico,  where  the 
water  disagreed  with  him,  he  found  relief  from  mint  julep, 
which  must  be  very  weak,  as  he  had  no  inclination  for 
strong  drinks. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  complete  the  picture  of  his 


Scotfs  Servant  David.  49 

daily  life  without  describing  his  body  servant,  and  espe 
cially  the  one  who  was  with  him  many  years,  and  went 
with  him  on  all  the  journeys  along  the  Northern  frontiers, 
at  the  removal  of  the  Cherokee  Indians,  and  elsewhere. 
His  name  was  David.  David  was  as  black  as  Spanish  ink, 
five  feet  six  inches  tall,  strongly  built,  visage  purely 
Ethiopian,  capacity  ordinary,  education  much  neglected. 
The  maxim,  "  like  master,  like  man,"  was  not  extensively 
applicable  in  this  case,  though  it  applied  in  part.  David 
was  so  straight  that  a  plumb  line  falling  from  the  back  of 
his  head  would  drop  clear  of  his  body  to  the  ground. 
David  had  full  charge  of  his  master's  personal  effects, 
which  he  stowed  according  to  a  system  of  his  own.  I 
thought  David  was  always  in  sight,  but  he  was  not,  for  at 
least  twice  a  week  I  would  hear  the  general  exclaim  in  an 
angry  voice,  "  Damn  you,  David  !  you  hide  everything  I've 
got,  and  then  you  hide  yourself." 

There  was  a  comical  streak  in  David's  character  which 
he  exhibited  in  various  ways.  One  day  while  we  had  our 
headquarters  at  the  American  Hotel  in  Buffalo  we  occu 
pied  the  largest  parlor  on  the  second  floor  as  an  office, 
and  having  business  at  the  Falls  we  left  in  the  morning  to 
be  gone  all  day.  I  told  David  to  remain  and  watch  the 
office,  and  to  have  a  good  fire  burning  at  our  return.  It 
happened  that,  after  an  absence  of  two  hours,  I  returned 
for  a  paper.  Opening  the  door  suddenly,  I  saw  David 
rigged  out  in  General  Scott's  full-dress  uniform,  marching 
up  and  down  the  room  in  the  presence  of  another  nigger. 
The  superb  cocked  hat  and  plume  was  prevented  from 
falling  down  like  an  extinguisher  by  the  abundance  of 
wool  on  the  back  of  his  head,  which  gave  the  chapeau  a 
cant  forward.  The  huge  gold  epaulettes,  ornamented 
with  silver  stars,  the  gilt  buttons  and  gold  embroidery, 
the  splendid  sabre  with  massive  sword-knot,  the  coat-tails 
4 


$o  Fifty   Years    Observation. 

and  sabre  dragging  a  yard  behind  on  the  floor,  the  pants, 
with  two-inch  wide  gold  stripes  down  the  sides,  which 
were  held  up  by  David's  nigger  heel,  and  the  gold  spurs 
strapped  upon  his  nigger  shoe,  suggested  a  strange  com 
parison.  The  uniform  was  so  familiar  to  me,  and  having 
so  often  seen  it  on  the  most  martial  figure  of  modern 
times,  it  appeared  as  though  my  chief  had  been  consumed 
by  an  internal  fire,  burnt  out,  collapsed,  blackened,  and 
left  standing  before  me.  David  appealed  tome  in  piteous 
terms  not  to  tell  t\\zjineral,  and  I  never  did  tell  him. 

David  sometimes  served  as  an  exponent  of  comparison 
for  his  master.  On  the  eve  of  our  departure  from  Buffalo, 
I  told  him  to  pack  up  and  have  everything  ready,  as  we 
must  be  off  early  in  the  morning  for  Detroit.  "  Detroit ! 
Detroit !  where's  dat  ?  "  said  he.  Not  long  afterwards  the 
general  compared  a  certain  other  general's  knowledge  of 
grammar  to  David's  knowledge  of  geography. 

David's  Ethiopian  nature  was  sorely  tried  in  our  long 
winter  journeys,  one  of  which  was  from  the  Astor  House 
in  New  York  to  Detroit,  in  sleighs  all  the  way  except  from 
Albany  to  Utica,  where  there  was  a  railroad.  My  young 
blood  was  nearly  congealed  when  we  arrived  at  Cleve 
land,  with  the  thermometer  at  10°  below  zero.  David 
was  torpid,  his  eyes  bloodshot,  and  his  skin  as  dry  as 
husks;  but  the  general,  who  was  enveloped  in  a  huge 
blanket,  showed  no  signs  of  suffering  or  impatience.  In 
fact,  he  seldom  complained  of  the  hardships  of  travel, 
which  in  those  days  tried  the  endurance  of  most  men. 
During  the  year  1838  we  were  together  on  the  road  in 
stage-coaches  or  sleighs  fifty-four  whole  nights,  and  he 
showed  no  uneasiness  except  at  delays,  which  always  an 
noyed  him.  No  necessity  or  incident  of  duty  seemed  to 
trouble  him,  and  in  its  performance  Job  himself  could  not 
have  been  more  patient. 


Anecdotes  of  David.  51 

If  David  wilted  in  the  winter  blasts  of  the  North,  the 
blazing  summer  sun  of  the  Cherokee  country  restored 
him  completely.  His  wool  recovered  from  its  dry,  dead 
appearance  to  look  like  clusters  of  live  snakes,  and 
blacker.  Signs  of  mischief  showed  themselves  in  him 
also.  He  took  to  drink,  and  one  evening  when  his  master 
called  him  to  inquire  about  his  wash  clothes,  David  came 
in  staggering,  just  able  to  stand  and  no  more,  and  his 
visage  was  unusually  greasy  and  shining. 

"  Damn  you,  David,  you  are  drunk  ! "  said  the  general. 

"  No,  sur  !  I  ishn't  drunk  !  "  And  this  is  the  nearest 
approach  to  insolence  I  ever  discovered  in  him,  for  David 
thought  the  "jineral"  was  the  greatest  of  living  men. 

David  was  negligent  in  some  things,  especially  about 
the  house  in  Elizabeth,  where  his  master,  he  and  the 
cook,  who  was  also  a  Virginia  negro,  lived  together  in  the 
absence  of  Mrs.  Scott  and  the  children.  The  cook  and 
David  could  never  agree,  and  each  charged  the  other  with 
whatever  the  master  found  amiss.  A  lively  discord  arose 
one  day  when  Captain  Gait  of  the  artillery  and  I  dined 
with  the  general.  The  table  was  spread  where  we  sat,  in 
a  room  adjoining  the  kitchen,  and  the  general  intermed 
dled  in  the  preparations.  Several  dishes  had  been  broken 
and  others  had  been  put  away  unwashed.  Every  neglect 
was  disputed,  but  the  question  of  the  napkins  was  by 
far  the  most  serious.  Only  two  could  be  found,  and 
there  were  three  convives. 

A  furious  storm  arose.  The  master  asserted  that  no 
longer  ago  than  the  last  week  there  had  been  13 — 15 — 
yes,  17  napkins  in  use,  and  what  had  become  of  them? 
The  jargon  of  the  darkies  was  not  conclusive,  but  the 
burden  of  responsibility  was  against  David,  because  he 
was  the  dining-room  waiter.  Then  the  general  ex 
claimed  :  "  David  !  David  !  What  have  you  done  with 


52  Fifty   Years    Observation. 

those  15  napkins?"  Notwithstanding  the  scoldings  and 
recriminations,  I  paid  little  attention  to  them,  and  con 
tinued  reading  a  newspaper  till  I  was  called  to  the  table. 

After  dinner  Captain  Gait  and  I  went  to  pay  a  call  on 
the  Kings,  who  then  lived  in  Elizabeth.  Gait  had  been 
an  aide  to  the  general,  and  was  a  man  of  genuine  humor. 
His  sympathetic,  flexible  voice,  high  breeding,  and  good 
temper  made  him  a  favorite  with  all  the  Kings,  and 
wherever  he  went  he  had  an  attentive  audience  to  his 
stories  and  relations.  His  description  of  what  occurred 
at  the  dinner  was  simply  inimitable.  The  company  was 
seized  with  a  fit  of  laughter  that  was  almost  irrepressible. 
He  introduced  into  his  voice  a  whine  that  would  have 
made  the  fortune  of  a  comedian,  when  he  imitated  the 
general's  despairing  exclamation,  "  David !  David ! 
Where  are  all  those  napkins  ?  What  have  you  done, 
David,  with  those  15  napkins?" 

David  himself  had  certain  negro  intonations  of  voice 
which  no  white  man  could  reproduce.  Once  on  a  journey 
he  left  the  general's  cocked  hat  behind  at  Utica,  and  it 
was  wanted  at  Buffalo.  Before  his  master  called  for  the 
hat,  David  had  informed  me  he  had  forgotten  it.  I  told 
him  he  must  prepare  for  a  terrible  scolding.  The  only 
reply  he  made  to  my  warning  was :  "  The  jineral  he 
scolds  me  every  day — he — he — he — eyah  !  "  He  got  a 
fearful  setting  down,  beginning  with  the  words — "  Damn 
you  !  why  didn't  you  leave  yourself  ?  " 

The  general  found  pleasure  in  gardening,  and  in  the 
care  of  domestic  animals  of  all  kinds,  as  well  as  of  the 
birds  that  visited  his  enclosures.  One  summer,  after  the 
Canadian  troubles  were  over,  the  general  occupied  his 
house  in  Elizabeth  and  I  boarded  not  far  off.  As  soon  as 
the  office  work  was  finished  we  would  go  together  and 
work  in  his  garden.  It  was  large  and  well  planted  with 


Moralizing  upon  the  Pig.  53 

flowers,  various  shrubs,  and  vegetables,  which  we  culti 
vated  with  our  own  hands.  At  the  remote  extremity  of 
the  garden  was  a  spacious  pen,  in  which  two  shoats  were 
confined.  Every  clear  day  the  general  and  I  would  visit 
the  pen,  carrying  roots  and  succulent  weeds,  and  remain 
to  see  the  pigs  feed.  While  so  engaged  we  discussed  the 
nature  of  the  hog,  as  well  as  all  the  subjects  and  similes  in 
which  he  figures,  and  the  enclosure  where  he  is  confined. 
The  hog  was  once  the  receptacle  of  devils,  and  all 
mankind  regard  him  as  the  filthiest  of  beasts,  and  still  his 
flesh  is  prized  as  an  article  of  food  by  all  the  Christian 
nations.  He  and  his  habitations  have  been  the  theme  of 
the  poet,  the  Christian  and  moralist,  and  the  historian 
Shakespeare  displays  the  power  of  contrast  when  he  ex 
claims  : 

"What  a  god 's  gold 

That  he  is  worship'd  in  a  baser  temple 
Than  where  swine  feed." 

Our  Lord  in  the  parable  of  the  Prodigal  Son  has  held 
up  as  a  warning  to  heedless  youth  a  sad  example  of  the 
effects  of  filial  impiety  and  riotous  living,  by  bringing  a 
wayward  child  of  affluence  to  care  for  this  unclean  animal 
and  to  feed  on  husks.  The  moralist  may  deduce  a  profit 
able  lesson  from  the  contrast  offered  by  the  hog  in  his 
untamed  condition,  by  comparing  the  independent  bold 
ness  of  the  wild  boar,  that  tests  the  prowess  of  noble 
hunters,  and  when  vanquished  his  head  is  honored  as  a 
trophy  at  the  banquet  that  follows ;  while  the  domestic 
hog  is  content  to  eat  and  sleep,  and  when  he  is  scratched 
with  a  chip  he  lies  down,  grunts,  and  is  happy.  Finally, 
the  historian  has  exemplified  the  extremest  sweep  of  am 
bition  by  tracing  the  career  of  Pizarro  from  his  youth  as 
a  swineherd  till  in  his  manhood  he  became  the  conqueror 
and  Viceroy  of  Peru. 


54  Fifty   Years'  Observation. 

On  an  occasion  when  the  general  was  in  a  moralizing 
frame  of  mind,  which  was  quite  usual  with  him,  he  pointed 
to  one  of  the  shoats  and  said :  "  That  pig  is  happy  though 
he  feeds  on  weeds  which  he  picks  up  from  the  dirt." 
"  Yes,"  said  I,  "  and  we  are  happy  because  we  expect  by 
and  by  to  eat  the  pig." 

In  front  of  the  house  were  some  shade  trees  in  which 
several  singing  birds  had  made  their  nests,  and  where 
they  remained  to  roost.  As  we  were  working  in  the  gar 
den  one  afternoon,  the  general  was  trimming  a  quince 
tree  with  a  large  hooked  pruning-knife,  while  I  was  dig 
ging  at  some  distance  from  him.  He  had  on  a  wide- 
brimmed  straw  hat,  and  long-waisted  knit  jacket  of  a 
brownish  color.  Suddenly  I  saw  him  advancing  with  im 
mense  strides  towards  the  street  in  front.  The  house 
concealed  from  me  the  object  which  attracted  him,  and  I 
had  only  time  to  arrive  at  the  corner  to  see  a  boy  with  a 
shot-gun  gazing  up  into  a  tree.  The  youngster  was  so 
intent  that  he  did  not  observe  our  approach  till  the  gen 
eral,  who  had  arrived  within  twenty  paces  of  him,  holding 
high  the  knife,  called  out  in  a  voice  which  might  have 
been  heard  by  a  whole  division  of  soldiers :  "  Young  man ! 
are  you  going  to  shoot  my  birds?"  The  boy  was  scared 
nearly  to  death,  and  for  a  moment  lost  the  power  of  mo 
tion  ;  but  he  quickly  recovered  and  took  to  his  heels.  I 
ran  to  the  gate  and  watched  him  till  he  passed  Brittain's 
house,  still  pulling  foot  as  if  chased  by  a  mad  bull.  The 
terror  inspired  in  that  boy  was  not  owing  to  the  general's 
equipments,  for  he  had  on  an  old  brown  dressing  jacket 
and  a  battered  straw  hat,  but  his  air  was  terrific.  The 
scene  recalled  to  me  the  story  of  old  Marius  and  theCim- 
brian  ruffian  who  was  sent  to  his  prison  to  assassinate  him 
while  he  was  naked  and  unarmed  ;  but  with  a  countenance 
more  dreadful  than  ever,  he  exclaimed  :  "  Barbare  !  Ose* 


General  Scott  at  Chess.  5f 

tu  tuer  Marius!"  Such  men  are  born  to  command  in 
war. 

The  general  was  fond  of  the  game  of  chess,  at  which  he 
was  fairly  skilful.  I  often  played  with  him,  and  I  think 
my  game  stood  to  his  as  about  two  to  five ;  nevertheless, 
he  beat  me  as  often  as  four  times  in  five.  Whenever  by 
chance  or  skill  I  gained  a  threatening  position,  he  became 
irritable,  and  if  I  did  not  move  quickly  he  would  angrily 
ejaculate :  "  Have  you  moved  ?  "  One  day  we  were 
playing  in  the  parlor  of  the  hotel  at  West  Point,  and  Mr. 
Ogden  Hoffman  was  looking  on.  In  the  process  of  that 
game,  which  I  won,  my  chief  was  uncommonly  tart.  I 
took  my  time,  and  while  I  was  considering  a  critical  po 
sition,  he  reached  out  his  hand  and  took  up  a  periodical 
and  opened  it  to  an  article  on  geology.  "  Do  you  think," 
said  he  to  Mr.  Hoffman,  "  that  I  shall  be  able  to  master 
this  subject  before  the  young  gentleman  gets  ready  to 
move  ? "  After  we  had  separated  Mr.  Hoffman  came  to 
console  me  for  what  I  might  think  was  rudeness  on  the 
part  of  my  chief.  "What  did  the  general  say?"  said  I, 
"  being  absorbed  by  my  game  and  determined  to  beat 
him,  I  paid  no  attention  to  his  remarks,  but  if  there  had 
been  a  hostile  tone  in  his  voice,  I  should  have  detected  it 
at  once.  That's  the  general's  manner  when  he  is  impa 
tient,  and  it  never  hurts  me." 

If  the  general  beat  me  easily,  it  was  not  so  with  his 
brother-in-law,  Mayo,  whose  game  was  much  the  strong 
est  of  the  three.  The  two  brothers-in-law  agreed  remark 
ably  well,  considering  that  they  differed  essentially  in 
most  particulars.  Mayo  was  an  uncompromising  Demo 
crat,  and  the  general  was  a  Whig.  Mayo  was  odd  and 
slovenly  in  his  dress,  my  chief  was  in  the  fashion  and 
neat.  Mayo  squinted  awfully,  but  he  was  a  gentleman 
and  a  scholar,  and  he  would  stuff  his  ordinary  conversa- 


56  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

tion  with  more  Latin  quotations  than  any  man  I  knew. 
He  came  frequently  to  play  chess,  and  was  able  to  beat 
us  both  if  he  chose  to  do  so.  Occasionally  the  general 
won  a  party,  and  that  encouraged  him  to  conclude  that 
those  he  lost  were  accidents.  One  day  their  game  was 
close,  and  they  prolonged  it  over  an  hour.  In  the  midst 
of  it  the  general  left  his  chair  to  spit  in  the  fire — he  then 
had  the  habit  of  chewing  tobacco.  Finally  the  game 
ended  in  favor  of  Mr.  Mayo,  and  the  general  arose  from 
his  chair  and  took  three  or  four  turns  up  and  down  the 
room  in  silence.  Then  he  came  near  me,  lifted  up  his 
spectacles  and  said  :  "  Young  gentleman  !  do  you  know 
why  I  lost  that  game  ?  "  "  No,  sir,"  said  I.  "  It  was  be 
cause  I  got  up  to  spit." 

The  chief  diversion  of  General  Scott,  and  the  one  to 
which  he  was  most  attached,  was  the  game  of  whist.  The 
idea  that  without  a  knowledge  of  the  game  of  whist  a 
man's  old  age  must  necessarily  be  unhappy  is  said  to 
have  originated  with  Talleyrand.  The  old  Frenchman's 
smart  saying  was  the  simple  expression  of  the  opinion  of 
vast  numbers  of  people  of  all  nations,  that  whist  and 
other  games  with  cards  are  the  most  efficient  promoters 
of  cheerfulness  in  old  age.  Whist,  although  it  is  the  most 
genteel  of  all  games,  is  the  one  that  most  frequently  gives 
rise  to  altercations  and  disputes.  All  confirmed  whist 
players  end  every  game  with  a  wrangle,  and  General 
Scott  was  not  easily  pleased  with  his  partner.  Occasion 
ally,  to  make  up  the  complement  I  was  called  on  to  take 
a  hand.  I  disliked  the  game  and  acknowledged  that  I 
played  badly,  but  the  general  declared  that  I  couldn't 
play  at  all,  and  when  he  had  me  for  a  partner  he  was 
obliged  to  play  against  three.  I  thought  no  one  could 
please  him,  for  he  even  quarrelled  with  dummy.  It  is  a 
mistake  to  suppose  that  a  confirmed  whist  player  is  satis- 


Scott  as  a  Whist-player.  57 

fied  with  gaining  the  stake.  On  one  occasion  I  was  in 
vited  to  take  part  in  a  game,  and  for  that  purpose  was 
introduced  to  a  polished  old  gentleman  who  was  to  be  my 
partner.  I  excused  my  want  of  knowledge  of  whist,  but 
the  old  gentleman  in  the  blandest  tones  insisted  on  my 
being  his  partner,  and  assured  me  that  my  ignorance  of 
the  finesse  of  the  game  would  make  no  difference.  The 
stake  was  to  be  $5,  which  was  more  than  I  ever  played 
for  before  or  since.  I  and  my  partner  won  the  first 
game,  but  my  blunders,  which  he  gently  rebuked,  had 
cleared  away  the  bland  expression  of  his  countenance. 
We  also  won  the  second  game,  and  then  the  old  man  was 
almost  rude  in  the  manner  in  which  he  recalled  my  wrong 
plays.  Finally,  we  gained  the  third  party  and  pocketed 
$15  each,  but  the  old  man's  passion  broke  loose,  and 
throwing  down  his  cards  he  declared  that  he  could  stand 
such  stupidity  no  longer,  and  left  the  table. 

The  range  of  General  Scott's  amusements  was  compa 
ratively  restricted.  Apart  from  the  enjoyment  he  derived 
from  ambition,  fame,  and  reading,  all  his  principal  pleas 
ures  were  embraced  in  the  following  list :  Conversation — 
the  table,  including  wine — the  games  of  whist  and  chess. 

He  was  entertained  by  aristocratic  associations,  by 
travel,  fine  horses,  and  his  own  personal  appearance.  Un 
til  the  conclusion  of  the  Mexican  war,  tobacco  was  a 
necessity  with  him ;  subsequently  he  wholly  renounced 
the  use  of  tobacco  in  all  its  forms. 

It  is  supposed  that  old  men  love  their  sycophants,  and 
young  men  love  their  mistresses  ;  but  towards  all  who 
demonstrated  admiration  for  him  he  was  at  all  times 
throughout  his  life  kindly  disposed.  In  regard  to  love 
for  the  gentler  sex,  I  never  suspected  that  in  him  at  any 
time  of  his  life. 

For  balls  and  dancing  parties,  hunting-,  fishing,  operas  and 
3* 


58  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

plays,  he  had  little  inclination,  although  his  position 
made  it  necessary  for  him  to  attend  them  frequently.  I 
seldom  heard  him  speak  of  operas  or  theatrical  entertain 
ments,  hunting,  fishing,  racing,  and  he  appeared  indiffer 
ent  to  all  such  diversions.  He  disliked  solitude,  was 
cheered  with  the  company  of  intimate  friends,  and  gener 
ally  I  regarded  him  as  a  happy  man. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Scott  as  a  gastronomer. — His  liking  for  the  table. — Some  of  his  tastes. — 
His  hospitality. — Kemble — Sam  Ward. 

T  NOW  proceed  to  describe  General  Scott  as  a  gas- 
-*-  tronomer.  He  derived  from  his  ancestors  the  in 
estimable  heritage  of  a  healthy  and  long-enduring 
stomach.  Aside  from  moral  obligations  and  ambitious 
pursuits,  he  found  a  continuous  source  of  enjoyment  in 
the  pleasures  of  the  table  throughout  a  period  of  sixty 
years  of  his  life.  He  regarded  a  knowledge  of  the  culi 
nary  processes  as  a  necessary  accomplishment  for  a 
gentleman  and  a  soldier,  and  he  placed  cooking  in  the 
front  rank  of  the  useful  arts. 

While  yet  a  very  young  man  he  had  the  good  fortune 
to  attract  the  notice  of  an  old  French  gentleman  who  had 
fled  from  Saint  Domingo  at  the  revolt  of  the  negroes 
towards  the  end  of  the  last  century,  and  with  the  remnant 
of  his  former  large  fortune  had  come  to  the  neighbor 
hood  of  Petersburg,  Virginia,  and  established  himself  in  a 
small  cottage.  In  that  humble  abode  the  dining-room 
and  kitchen  were  separated  by  a  partition  that  extended 
only  five  feet  above  the  floor.  As  monsieur  was  too  poor 
to  afford  a  waiter  or  cook,  he  did  the  duty  of  both  him 
self,  and  young  Scott,  while  seated  in  the  dining-room, 
waiting  for  the  repast  to  be  served,  could  see  the  old 
gentleman's  head  bobbing  up  and  down  attending  to  his 
stew-pans.  After  placing  the  dishes  upon  the  table,  the 
Frenchman  would  remove  his  apron,  put  on  a  rusty  dress 


60  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

coat,  and  dispense  the  hospitality  of  his  house  with  the 
grace  and  dignity  of  a  prince.  "  It  was  there,"  said  the 
general,  "that  I  received  my  first  and  best  lessons  in  cook 
ing,  and  in  conduct  at  the  head  of  a  table." 

Many  men,  illustrious  for  their  wisdom  and  high 
positions,  have  extolled  the  delights  of  prandial  enjoy 
ments,  and  there  appears  to  be  a  period  in  the  lives  of  the 
healthiest  and  best  of  mortals  in  which  the  pleasures  of 
the  table  prevail  over  all  others.  The  man  who,  after  the 
toils  and  vexations  of  the  day,  is  able  to  seat  himself  at  a 
good  dinner,  with  wine  in  abundance,  will  find  his  heart 
rejoiced.  If  the  cook  is  skilful,  amiable  discourses  will 
enliven  the  feast  from  which  envy  is  banished,  sweet 
dreams  will  succeed  it,  and  happiness  and  concord  will  be 
the  final  result. 

Among  the  omissions  of  my  former  days  there  are  few 
which  I  more  regret  than  my  neglect  to  keep  continuous 
notes  of  conversations  with  my  chief  and  others  in  his 
company,  upon  all  subjects,  and  especially  the  one  under 
examination.  I  know  of  no  flesh  of  beasts,  or  edible 
fishes,  or  fowl,  or  herb,  or  root,  or  grain,  the  preparation 
of  which  for  food  was  not  many  times  the  subject  of  con 
versation.  If  I  could  enrich  my  history  with  all  I  learned 
from  the  general  and  his  associates  upon  that  subject,  I 
should  be  the  author  of  a  valuable  system  of  nourish, 
ment,  and  a  benefactor  of  mankind.  As  it  is,  I  must  con 
tent  myself  with  reminiscences,  disjointed  in  time,  lacking 
in  order,  and  destitute  of  agreeable  concatenation. 

At  the  time  Mr.  Cozzens  kept  the  old  American  Hotel 
in  Broadway,  corner  of  Barclay  Street,  New  York,  I  was 
in  the  habit  of  going  there  to  dine  at  the  ladies'  ordi 
nary.  It  was  at  that  table  that  I  ate  the  best  bread  I 
had  ever  seen,  and  until  about  the  year  1837  the  bread 
in  America  was  as  vile  as  it  is  now  in  the  best  hotels  in 


Virginia  Hams.  6l 

London.  The  general  told  me  he  had  originally  taught 
Mr.  Cozzens  how  to  make  the  bread  that  I  praised  so 
highly.  He  said  that  at  his  first  visit  to  the  Point,  after 
Cozzens  opened  his  hotel  there,  he  found  the  bread  de 
testable,  and  not  fit  for  dogs  to  eat.  He  volunteered  to 
go  to  the  bakehouse,  and  instruct  the  baker,  which  he  did 
shortly  before  leaving.  The  following  summer,  upon  his 
return  to  West  Point,  Mr.  Cozzens  exultingly  called  his 
attention  to  the  bread.  "  This  is  less  bad  than  it  was," 
said  the  general,  "  for  the  bread  you  have  now  is  fit  for 
the  kennel."  He  went  again  to  the"  bakehouse  and  suc 
ceeded  in  having  his  ideas  put  in  practice,  and  the  result 
was  the  bread  I  have  found  so  good. 

Another  prolific  subject  of  conversation  with  the  gen 
eral  was  the  preparation  of  the  flesh  of  swine  for  the 
table.  Like  all  Southern  men,  my  chief  was  fond  of  Vir 
ginia  hams.  They  were  quite  thin  compared  with  those 
of  the  Northern  States,  and  kept  longer  in  the  smoke 
house,  in  which  the  fire  was  renewed  every  wet  day 
throughout  the  summer.  The  Southern  hams  owe  their 
pleasant  flavor  to  the  fact  that  their  hogs  are  given  ex 
tensive  range,  and  fed  on  mast,  or  Indian  corn.  The 
flesh  of  no  quadruped  is  more  delicate  than  that  of 
the  wild  boar,  and  that  of  his  domestic  congenitor  gains 
in  proportion  as  he  is  made  to  get  his  living  in  a  similar 
way.  In  the  cooking  of  the  hams  the  general  omitted  no 
care.  He  insisted  on  their  being  simmered  until  they 
could  be  cut  with  a  spoon,  and  he  would  have  them 
brought  to  the  table  with  the  skin  on.  Every  winter  the 
general  would  have  sent  to  him  from  Norfolk  or  Peters 
burg  a  barrel  full  of  hams,  packed  in  ashes,  and  none 
others  were  used  in  his  family. 

The  times  at  which  food  should  be  eaten  after  with 
drawal  from  heat  had  engaged  his  study,  and  he  con- 


62  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

eluded,  after  long  contemplation,  that  bread  should  not 
be  eaten  till  it  had  been  out  of  the  oven  at  least  twenty- 
four  hours.  He  condemned  bread  which  is  too  white,  be 
cause  it  is  less  healthful  than  that  with  a  tinge  of  yellow 
which  is  found  in  flour  that  has  not  been  too  finely 
bolted.  He  had  considered  the  various  methods  of  ap 
plying  heat  and  seasoning,  and  he  never  allowed  a  pepper 
box  in  his  kitchen,  on  account  of  the  stolidity  of  cooks, 
who  apply  that  condiment  in  such  excess  as  to  confound 
all  other  flavors.  He  had  pursued  his  examinations  with 
such  nice  discrimination  as  to  discover  the  changes  which 
meats  undergo  after  being  removed  from  the  fire  up  to 
the  point  of  highest  excellence,  which  stops  short  of  what 
is  termed  haut  gout. 

After  the  shoats  referred  to  in  a  former  chapter  had 
been  killed,  and  the  various  parts  cured,  he  had  one  of 
the  pickled  shoulders  boiled,  and  I  was  at  supper  alone 
with  him  at  his  house  in  Elizabeth  when  it  was  first 
brought  upon  the  table.  With  a  perversity  of  selfishness 
innate  in  sinful  man,  I  acknowledged  the  satisfaction  I 
felt  in  the  spoil  of  the  quadruped  that  had  interested  me 
in  life,  and  I  told  the  general  the  shoulder  was  delicious. 
"Young  gentleman,"  said  he,  "you  will  like  it  much 
better  after  it  has  been  kept  a  while  in  a  cool  place/' 
Then  marking  off  on  the  shoulder  with  his  knife  the 
amount  we  should  probably  consume  successively  at  every 
supper,  he  added  ;  "  In  seven  days  we  shall  come  to  this 
point,  and  then  it  will  be  ripe  and  at  its  best." 

The  general  had  an  unvarying  fondness  for  fish,  and 
generally  at  breakfast,  and  always  at  dinner,  he  had  them 
served  to  him.  It  seemed  to  be  his  ambition  to  know 
the  names  of  all  the  edible  fishes  that  swim  near  the  ocean 
shores  of  Europe,  and  all  the  coasts  of  America,  and  in 
the  lakes,  ponds,  and  running  streams.  For  convenience 


Fondness  for  Fish.  63 

he  designated  crabs,  lobsters,  oysters,  mussels,  terrapins, 
shrimps,  prawns,  clams,  turtles,  and  skates  as  fishes.  Of 
the  finny  tribe  there  were  two  in  ordinary  use  which  he 
disliked  for  food.  Once  when  we  were  at  a  restaurant 
dining  alone  they  had  no  fish  but  porgies.  He  declined 
them,  saying :  "  Damn  your  porgies  ;  who  eats  porgies  ?  " 
I  never  remember  to  have  seen  him  eat  an  eel,  but  he  fre 
quently  referred  to  that  fish  in  connection  with  his  efforts 
to  sleep,  by  saying  he  had  "  caught,  or  was  about  to 
catch,  the  eel  by  the  tail." 

Whenever  I  discovered  anything  new  about  fish,  or  the 
method  of  cooking  them,  I  made  haste  to  inform  my 
chief.  The  first  time  I  met  the  late  Professor  Agassiz 
was  at  West  Point  shortly  after  his  arrival  in  America.  I 
spent  the  evening  in  his  company  at  the  house  of  Profes 
sor  Bailey.  The  conversation  turned  on  the  fishes  which 
are  peculiar  to  America.  I  told  him  I  thought  the  con 
tents  of  a  seine  drawn  on  the  coast  of  South  Carolina,  or 
Florida,  would  interest  him.  Among  others,  I  named  the 
gar  fish.  The  professor  sprang  from  his  chair,  took  hold 
of  my  hand,  and  exclaimed  :  "  Have  you  seen  a  live  gar 
fish?"  "Many  of  them,"  said  I.  "Well,"  said  he,  "I 
never  saw  a  gar  fish  alive,  but  I  hope  to  see  one  soon,  as 
he  is  of  the  oldest  fish  family  alive  in  the  ocean ;  his  origin 
is  antediluvian."  When  I  repeated  all  this  to  the  general 
he  was  not  aware  of  its  ancient  origin,  but  he  knew  that 
gar  broth  is  the  meanest  porridge  that's  made. 

Occasionally,  without  being  aware  of  it,  the  general 
manifested  sectionalism  in  his  choice  of  food  of  various 
kinds.  He  cared  little  for  tea,  and  nothing  for  pies,  and 
he  disliked  what  he  called  "  white-faced  puddings."  For 
breakfast  he  liked  hominy  and  milk  whenever  it  could  be 
had.  He  thought  the  Connecticut  River  shad  inferior  to 
those  of  some  of  the  Southern  streams,  which  is  unques- 


64  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

tionably  a  mistake,  the  Connecticut  River  shad  being  de 
cidedly  the  best  in  the  world.  He  esteemed  the  white 
fish  of  Lake  Superior,  the  cod  fish,  black  fish,  mackerel, 
salmon  and  sea  bass  of  the  North,  as  highly  as  the  hog 
fish,  the  pompano,  the  king  fish,  the  sheephead,  and  rock 
fish  of  the  Southern  waters.  He  told  me  the  white  fish 
of  Lakes  Superior  and  Huron  were  far  better  than  those 
of  the  lower  lakes.  He  described  to  me  the  manner  of 
eating  those  fishes.  They  were  to  be  cooked  done  and 
immediately  rolled  up,  one  after  another,  in  a  napkin, 
doubled  and  heated  almost  to  scorching.  Then  they  were 
to  be  served  and  eaten  immediately,  unrolling  the  napkin 
as  the  fish  were  wanted.  Thus  prepared,  I  understood 
him  to  say  that  when  hungry  he  could  eat  through  an  ex 
tensive  series. 

An  essential  and  daily  portion  of  the  general's  diet  con 
sisted  of  the  flesh  of  various  species  of  the  feathered  race. 
First  in  excellence  and  above  all  volant  animals  stood  the 
canvas-back  duck  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  in  its  season ; 
then  in  order  woodcock,  the  English  snipe,  turkeys,  and 
domestic  fowls,  especially  poulards  and  capons.  He  con 
sumed  more  of  them  than  of  beef,  mutton,  veal,  pork  and 
bacon.  But  of  all  the  denizens  of  air,  earth  and  water,  the 
one  he  best  loved  to  eat  was  the  terrapin  of  the  Mary 
land  waters.  This  animal  is  called  by  some  a  reptile,  and 
he  is  amphibious.  At  the  time  to  which  I  refer  there 
were  not  three  cooks  in  America,  and  none  in  the  other 
parts  of  the  earth,  whom  he  would  acknowledge  to  be  able 
to  cook  the  terrapin  properly.  On  one  occasion,  in  Wash 
ington,  while  dining  with  a  company  of  eight,  all  lovers 
of  good  cheer,  I  offered  to  bet  a  dinner  of  the  best,  for 
the  company,  that  if  we  should  invite  the  general  to  dine 
with  us  at  any  time  v/ithin  a  month,  and  have  terrapin  pre 
pared  by  his  favorite  cook,  that  he  would  during  the  din- 


Terrapin.  65 

ner  say  and  do  the  following  things  in  manner  following: 
He  would,  while  leaning  his  left  elbow  on  the  table,  having 
some  of  the  terrapin  on  his  fork,  held  raised  about  six 
inches  above  his  plate,  exclaim :  u  This  is  the  best  food 
vouchsafed  by  Providence  to  man ! "  and  then  carry 
it  immediately  to  his  mouth.  The  other  thing  he  would 
do,  or  I  would  lose  the  wager,  was,  that  leaning  on  the 
table  in  manner  aforesaid  he  would  pour  wine  from  one 
glass  into  another.  No  man  took  my  bet. 

Whenever  a  nice  dish  of  terrapin  was  set  before  my 
chief,  his  countenance  glowed  with  satisfaction,  and  his 
tongue  gave  utterance  to  eloquent  discourses.  "  This 
little,  ugly,  black-legged  animal,"  said  he,  "  that  carries 
his  house  with  him,  is  obliged  to  seek  his  living  in  the 
swamps  and  solitary  coves,  among  the  rushes,  and  to 
burrow  in  mud ;  and  yet  he  is  sought  after  with  painful 
diligence,  and  the  dish  prepared  from  his  flesh  is  honored 
at  the  feasts  of  the  rich  and  the  brave."  The  above 
speech,  which  I  report  faithfully,  is  in  the  style  of  the 
Anatomy  of  Melancholy,  where  Burton  compares  a  poor 
Christian  to  a  hen  that  lives  all  her  life  on  a  dunghill,  and 
at  last  is  served  up  at  her  lord's  table ;  "  while  the  falcon 
is  fed  on  capons,  carried  on  his  master's  arm,  and  when 
he  dies  he  is  thrown  on  a  compost  heap  and  there  he  rots" 

While  General  Scott  resided  in  Paris,  after  the  fall  of 
the  great  Napoleon,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  dining  by 
turns  at  the  three  restaurants  which  were  then  in  highest 
repute  in  that  city  of  gourmets,  Ve'ry's,  Les  trois  frtres 
Proven^catix,  and  the  Rocher  de  la  Cancale.  The  general's 
means  and  position  enabled  him  to  pursue  his  inquiries 
to  advantage.  He  could  practise  at  the  restaurants  re 
ferred  to ;  at  the  same  time  he  could  study  Brillat  Sav- 
arin  and  other  standard  authors,  and  collect  the  traditions 
of  Vattel  and  other  illustrious  cooks.  The  loyalty  of  his 


66  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

disposition  and  the  fidelity  of  his  stomach  secured  him 
against  all  spurious  methods  of  practice  and  every  illusion 
of  theory.  He  was  never  dazzled  nor  influenced  by 
fashion  or  the  devices  of  conceit  to  abandon  a  position 
to  which  he  had  been  led  by  natural  laws,  and  through 
out  his  life  he  preserved  the  simplicity  of  his  tastes  and 
the  discriminating  delicacy  of  his  palate,  as  the  following 
instances  prove. 

It  was  his  frequent  custom  at  hotel  tables  to  call  for 
a  raw  onion,  which,  when  it  was  brought  to  him  by  the 
waiter,  he  would  hold  down  his  hand  to  receive.  He 
would  then  slice  it  and  mingle  it  with  his  salad  or  other 
dishes,  according  to  his  taste.  He  was  also  fond  of  the 
Swedish  turnip,  which  must  not  be  too  much  nor  too 
little  cooked.  Once,  at  Cleveland,  on  our  return  from 
the  Northwest,  he  found  the  turnips  to  his  liking,  and 
having  one  on  his  plate,  he  turned  to  me  while  patting 
the  turnip  with  his  fork,  and  said  :  "  Young  gentleman ! 
we  are  now  in  a  civilized  community."  To  minds  not 
fully  fraught  with  the  importance  of  the  subject,  the 
foregoing  examples  may  appear  to  savor  of  vulgarity  of 
taste,  but  to  me  they  are  compatible  with  the  extremest 
finesse  of  observation  which  was  characteristic  in  him 
throughout  his  life. 

The  general  did  not  like  solitary  meals,  and  rather  than 
dine  alone  he  preferred  to  pay  for  the  dinner  of  a  pleasant 
companion.  If  the  cooking  was  good  he  was  uniformly 
cheerful,  and  would  tell  stories  and  anecdotes  during  the 
repast.  One  day,  when  he  and  I  were  dining  together  at 
the  Union  Club,  he  remarked  that  the  table-knives  in 
France  were  pointed,  and  only  used  to  cut  viands.  He 
related  an  anecdote  about  the  tragic  use  of  a  table-knife 
by  an  accomplished  individual.  While  he  was  in  Paris, 
dining  at  the  Rocher  de  la  Cancale,  he  often  noticed  com- 


Dinners  Given  to  Scott.  67 

ing  in,  or  seated  at  table,  the  most  strikingly  elegant  and 
handsome  man  he  had  ever  seen.  It  was  a  French  chev 
alier  d'industrie,  who,  while  he  was  secretly  plotting 
against  the  government,  was  openly  acting  the  part  of  its 
warm  supporter.  One  morning,  the  chevalier  called  on 
General  d'Espinasse,  who  was  Governor  of  Paris,  while  he 
was  at  breakfast.  He  came  to  ask  a  favor  and  to  urge 
haste.  The  governor  replied :  "  There  is  no  need  of  haste, 
monsieur,  we  have  your  papers."  "  Mes  papiers !  "  ex 
claimed  the  chevalier ;  at  the  same  instant  seizing  a  knife 
from  the  table  he  plunged  it  into  his  heart  and  fell  dead. 
General  Scott,  at  the  conclusion  of  his  story,  looked  at 
me  attentively  and  added  :  "  A  man  must  be  better  look 
ing  than  you  or  I,  to  get  his  living  by  his  wits." 

My  remarks  this  far  upon  General  Scott's  gastronomic 
accomplishments  have  been  designedly  analytical;  a  com 
parison  with  others  will  afford  something  of  a  synthetical 
view  of  the  subject.  Definite  comparisons,  however,  are 
not  easy  in  cases  like  this,  since  at  the  times  when  his 
popularity  was  at  its  flood  there  was  not  a  city  in  the 
Union  that  he  visited  in  which  the  best  dinner  givers  did 
not  vie  with  one  another  to  prepare  for  him  their  most 
sumptuous  feasts.  I  was  almost  always  invited  with 
him,  and  could  witness  the  alacrity  with  which  he  was 
served  and  the  admiration  excited  by  his  presence.  At 
nearly  all  those  grand  dinners,  it  usually  happened  that 
some  extraordinary  or  surprising  attraction  presented  it 
self  to  draw  away  the  attention  from  the  excellence  of 
the  viands  and  the  skill  of  the  cook.  Sometimes  mere 
tricious  ornaments,  or  vast  displays  of  wealth  in  furniture, 
would  confuse  the  thoughts,  and  at  other  times,  when  he 
was  surrounded  by  gifted  men  and  elegant  women,  all 
eager  to  catch  the  tones  of  his  voice,  the  general's  exalta 
tion  was  not  propitious  to  serious  study.  My  own  atten- 


68  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

tion  to  grosser  objects  was  also  diverted  by  the  presence 
of  the  favorites  of  fortune,  male  and  female,  with  whom  I 
was  confronted — distinguished  men,  matrons  blazing 
with  gems,  fair  damsels,  whose  luminous  eyes,  when  by 
chance  they  fell  on  me,  would  daze  my  mind  and  fill  my 
imagination  with  sensuous  illusions.  Subject  as  I  was  to 
such  joyous  surroundings,  the  fluctuations  of  my  fancy 
deprived  me  of  the  power  to  render  a  sober  judgment  of 
the  conduct  of  others,  and  my  neglect  to  note  the  events 
to  which  I  was  a  witness  must  be  charged,  like  other  omis 
sions,  to  the  levity  of  my  youth. 

To  enable  me  to  give  a  better  understanding  of  Gen 
eral  Scott's  merits  as  a  gastronomer,  and  the  elegant  sim 
plicity  of  his  taste,  it  affords  me  pleasure  to  escape  the 
pomp  and  flare  of  fashion,  and  to  make  comparison 
with  an  old  friend  and  his  hospitality,  the  memory  of 
which  I  cherish  as  one  of  the  great  benefits  of  my  life.  I 
allude  to  the  late  Hon.  Gouverneur  Kemble,  of  Cold 
Springs,  New  York.  He  was  a  man  who,  during  a  period 
of  fifty  years,  was  known  and  loved  for  his  good  deeds  and 
amiable  qualities,  and  for  spreading  every  week  a  table 
around  which  were  assembled  the  choicest  company  of 
men  I  have  known  socially,  and  among  whom  it  was  my 
good  fortune  to  be  numbered  during  a  period  of  nearly 
five  years  that  I  occupied  the  head  of  a  department  at 
the  Military  Academy.  I  say  company  of  men,  because 
being  a  bachelor  he  seldom  invited  women.  It  was  re 
ported  of  Mr.  Kemble  that,  when  in  early  manhood  he 
saw  his  affianced  lowered  into  her  grave,  his  breast  was 
so  lacerated  that  it  never  healed.  The  niche  in  his 
heart  where  his  idol  had  stood  was  never  to  be  filled 
again;  and  having  lost  by  death  the  greatest  felicity 
a  man  can  enjoy  on  earth,  which  is  to  be  loved  by  the 
woman  he  esteems,  he  sought  an  inferior  happiness,  by 


Mr.  Kernble  and  His  Guests.  69 

making  glad  the  men  who  could  appreciate  his  hospital 
ity.  At  Mr.  Kemble's  table  General  Scott  was  often 
seen,  and  there  from  time  to  time  we  met  ex-President 
Van  Buren  ;  Mr.  Paulding,  author,  and  ex-Secretary  of 
the  Navy;  Mr.  Bancroft,  the  historian,  Mr.  Washington 
Irving,  Mr.  Poinsett,  Secretary  of  War,  Mr.  Preston,  Mr. 
John  Van  Buren,  Colonel  Thayer,  General  Totten,  Mr. 
Parrott  and  Robert  E.  Lee,  and  the  principal  heads  of  de 
partment  of  the  Military  Academy,  many  foreigners  of 
distinction  from  various  countries,  and  numerous  other 
men  who  were  distinguished  in  governments  and  for 
their  learning  and  good  breeding. 

My  chief  had  often  told  me  of  Mr.  Kemble's  dinners  be 
fore  I  had  been  honored  by  an  invitation  to  his  table. 
He  said  they  were  composed  of  many  small  dishes,  be 
sides  fat  turkeys  and  domestic  fowls,  and  that  the  only 
objection  to  them  was  the  danger  of  eating  too  much. 
The  wines  were  good,  especially  the  port  and  the  sherry, 
which  was  his  favorite.  Champagne  wine  he  did  not 
favor,  and  he  only  gave  one  glass  unless  it  was  especially 
called  for.  He  disliked  cigars  also,  but  he  would  pass 
his  gold  snuff-box  around  the  table  at  the  end  of  the 
dinner. 

At  Mr.  Kemble's  entertainments  the  discussions  em 
braced  every  subject  that  claims  the  attention  of  civilized 
man — the  policy  of  governments ;  the  habitudes  engen 
dered  by  climate,  race,  and  occupation ;  the  laws  and 
rites  of  various  nations  and  ages ;  sculpture,  painting,  ar 
chitecture,  and  all  the  vast  domain  of  science,  history, 
politics,  parties,  civil  and  military  biographies,  poetry, 
and  manners.  The  subjects  of  religion  and  matrimony 
were  seldom  debated,  and  such  was  the  urbanity  of  the 
guests  that  every  one  was  allowed,  without  interruption, 
to  state  his  own  opinions. 


7O  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

From  the  time  I  was  ordered  to  California  I  continued 
to  correspond  with  Mr.  Kemble,  and  my  last  letter  from 
him  was  received  while  I  was  in  Europe.  It  was  written 
to  describe  a  dinner  of  thirty-two  covers  which  he  gave  to 
celebrate  his  eighty-seventh  birthday.  The  chirography 
was  firm  and  elegant,  covered  four  large  pages,  and  the 
letter  contained  the  following  remarkable  passage :  "  And 
now  having  done  my  duty  to  my  friends,  to  society,  and  I 
trust  to  my  God,  I  am  ready  to  depart."  There  was  for 
me  in  those  words  a  pathos  deeper  and  more  affecting 
than  could  have  been  uttered  by  Fenelon  or  St.  Pierre. 

A  little  more  than  two  years  after  the  letter  was  writ 
ten,  when  he  had  entered  upon  his  ninetieth  year,  the 
angel  of  death  descended  upon  his  hospitable  abode  and 
served  on  him  the  last  summons,  which  he  with  worthy 
submission  obeyed  about  1875.  Thus  ended  a  life  which 
was  made  glorious  by  innumerable  acts  of  beneficence 
and  an  unvarying  integrity. 

The  two  illustrious  citizens,  Scott  and  Kemble,  whose 
characters  I  have  so  fully  portrayed,  will  be  better  under 
stood  if  I  pass  to  another  level  and  present  one  of  a  dif 
ferent  mould.  In  my  search  for  a  fit  comparative,  espe 
cially  in  the  matter  of  gastronomy,  my  selection  has  fallen 
upon  Mr.  Samuel  Ward,  whose  unctuous  presence  clings 
to  my  memory  after  the  lapse  of  many  years  that  we  have 
been  separated. 

Samuel  Ward  is  a  man  * 

41  That  apprehends  no  further  than  this  world, 
And  squares  his  life  according     .     .     ." 

I  was  quite  young  when  I  first  saw  him  at  a  small  pri 
vate  party  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Lynch,  in  New  York.  He 
was  singing  a  Russian  song  in  the  Russian  language,  and 
accompanying  himself  on  the  piano  with  great  clatter.  I 

*  Written  before  the  recent  news  of  his  death. 


Mr.  Samuel  Ward.  71 

met  him  several  times  in  similar  gatherings,  but  did  not 
seek  his  acquaintance.  I  was  content  to  study  his  ap 
pearance,  which  was  strikingly  at  variance  with  that  of 
ordinary  young  New  Yorkers  who  were  the  sons  of  opu 
lent  fathers.  I  admired  in  his  compact  form  and  stat 
ure  of  medium  height,  his  vivacity  of  speech,  and  spon 
taneous  activity,  the  proofs  that  his  vital  enginery  was 
perfect.  There  was  also  in  his  countenance  an  openness 
and  candor  which  denoted  nurture  and  that  his  youth  had 
been  blameless.  It  was  the  opinion  of  J.  J.  Rousseau 
(though  he  himself  was  a  base  infidel  and  debauched  dem 
agogue)  that  those  young  men  who  preserve  their  inno 
cence  till  their  twenty-first  or  twenty-second  year  are  the 
most  attractive  and  engaging  of  mankind,  and  such  did 
Samuel  Ward  appear  before  fair  fortune  turned  her  back 
on  him. 

I  formed  his  personal  acquaintance  at  the  time  the  gold 
fever  broke  out,  and  a  few  years  later  I  became  intimate 
with  him  in  California.  At  that  time  my  bark  was  rocked 
by  the  gentle  gales  of  fortune,  while  his  was  aground.  To 
study  men  in  various  conditions  is  the  sole  method  by 
which  they  can  be  known,  and  when  I  commenced  the 
survey  of  his  character  I  quickly  discovered  that  Samuel 
was  deficient  in  some  of  the  rules  of  prudence,  but  that 
in  the  variety  of  his  accomplishments  he  was  unexampled. 
To  denote  the  scope  and  instances  of  his  versatility  is  a  task 
for  which  I  am  unequal,  and  when  I  reflect  on  all  he  has  done 

"...    'tis  wonder  that  enwraps  me." 

For  a  while  when  his  fortunes  were  at  their  lowest  ebb, 
Samuel  was  misanthropic,  and  spoke  of  going  to  live  in 
Alaska.  His  thoughts  were  probably  turned  upon  that 
icy  country  by  reading  his  favorite  poet,  Campbell,  who 
refers  to 

"  The  wolf's  long  howl  on  Analaska's  shore." 


72  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

If  he  had  carried  out  his  purpose  the  germ  of  his  re 
nown  might  have  been  frozen  and  killed,  or  that  wolf 
might  have  devoured  him,  and  we  should  never  have  heard 
of  Sam  as  the  u  king  of  the  lobby  and  the  prince  of  good 
fellows."  He  did  not  go  to  Alaska,  however,  but  he  left 
San  Francisco,  as  I  supposed  to  hide  himself  in 

"  The  mountains  and  the  barbarous  caves  " 

of  California.  He  was  not  long  absent,  but  long  enough 
to  enrich  his  vocabulary  with  the  dialects  of  several  tribes 
of  wild  Indians,  while  he  added  little  to  his  fortunes  and 
nothing  to  his  accomplishments. 

Having  thus  within  the  period  of  a  few  years  been 
forced  by  the  blasts  of  an  adverse  fortune  to  abandon  the 
haunts  of  luxury,  and  compelled  to  subsist  on  the  coarse 
stubs  and  meagre  repasts  of  poverty,  he  appears  to  have 
formed  the  plan  of  his  future  life  upon  the  supposition 
that  pleasure  and  happiness  are  convertible  terms,  and 
that  mankind  are  generally  gullible.  Some  natural  affec 
tions  remained  in  him,  as  he  is  fond  of  caressing  babies, 
and  always  finds  something  tender  to  say  to  aged  and  de 
jected  females.  Whatever  has  been  his  scheme  or  pur 
pose,  the  principal  auxiliary  to  gain  it  has  been  a  dinner, 
and  as  the  organizer  of  dinners  and  the  presiding  genius  of 
feasts  he  is  everywhere  known.  To  consider  him  chiefly 
as  a  gastronomer  is  my  design  and  excuse  for  this  digres 
sion  from  the  subject  of  this  memoir. 

When  he  returned  to  San  Francisco  from  his  short  so 
journ  among  the  savages,  he  went  to  live  with  Hall 
McAllister,  who  is  his  relative.  Hall  is  of  a  hospitable 
disposition,  and  has  long  shone  from  the  summit  of  the 
California  Bar.  One  day,  wishing  to  give  a  dinner  to  a 
party  of  his  friends,  he  commissioned  Sam  to  prepare  it, 
allowing  him  carte  blanche.  Hall  went  early  to  his  office, 


Ward  as  a  Dinner-giver.  73 

and  at  his  return  towards  night  he  found  several  me 
chanics  at  work  in  his  kitchen  building  a  new  range,  hav 
ing  already  removed  the  old  one.  Sam  was  supervising  the 
workmen,  who  were  employed  at  $10,  $12  and  $16  a  day, 
and  the  one  who  was  to  foot  the  bills  had  not  been  con 
sulted.  In  due  course  of  time  the  dinner  was  ready,  and  the 
guests  assembled  to  the  number  of  eighteen  or  twenty,  of 
which  I  was  one.  Looking  around  upon  the  company,  I 
discovered  a  uniformity  in  their  countenances,  which  arose 
from  an  expression  of  compliant  benevolence  such  as  men 
acquire  who  habitually  eat  good  dinners  and  drink  good 
wine  at  the  expense  of  other  men. 

Sam's  air  denoted  perplexity  and  doubt,  which  was  ac 
counted  for  by  the  fact  that  he  had  engaged  a  cook  who 
was  refractory  to  his  orders  ;  but  in  the  end  he  triumphed. 
The  dinner  proved  a  perfect  success,  and  in  the  midst  of 
it  there  came  upon  the  table  a  dish  superladen  with  orna 
ments,  the  name  of  which  no  one  could  tell.  Sam  was 
appealed  to  for  information,  but  instead  of  responding  at 
once,  he  proceeded  to  examine  it  with  the  solemnity  of  an 
autopsy.  When  he  had  finished  he  said :  "  Gentlemen, 
the  name  of  this  dish,  the  basis  of  which  is  beef,  is  not 
found  in  any  of  the  catalogues,  but  it  is  composed  in  the 
fashion  of  Bechemelle."  Now,  although  I  ate  many  a 
feast,  and  drank  many  a  flagon  with  Mr.  Ward,  the  above 
detailed  allusion  will  suffice  to  show  that  Sam's  motives 
are  always  mysterious,  that  his  conduct  is  attended  with 
surprises,  that  he  often  dignifies  trifles,  and  sometimes 
employs  large  phrases  to  convey  small  ideas.  What 
ordinary  mortals  call  a  spit  is,  with  him,  a  wand ;  his 
stew-pans  are  alembics,  his  carving-knife  is  a  bistoury,  and 
his  fork  is  a  trident.  At  the  feast,  whether  given  by  him 
self  or  others,  he  is  always  blandly  cheerful  and  sympa 
thizing,  and  when  he  holds  up  a  glass  of  old  wine  to  the 
4 


74  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

light  and  looks  through  it,  the  glow  of  his  countenance 
makes  all  others  look  dismal  by  the  comparison.  With 
such  endowments  as  I  have  ascribed  to  him,  joined  to 
the  ability  to  turn  night  into  day,  it  might  have  been 
easily  foreseen  that  when  Mr.  Ward  transferred  his 
presence  to  Washington,  he  would  become  "  the  king  of 
the  lobby  "  and  gain  repute  as  "  the  prince  of  good  fel 
lows." 

As  Mr.  Ward  has  been  proclaimed  by  the  newspapers, 
and  by  the  ephemera  of  society,  the  model  gastronomer 
of  the  country,  it  is  fit  that  I  should  examine  his  title  to 
that  distinction  and  subject  it  to  every  test  of  excel 
lence.  In  the  forms  and  ceremonies  of  feasts  he  is  no 
toriously  learned,  and  he  possesses  a  smattering  knowl 
edge  of  the  chemical  changes  which  the  raw  material  of 
nourishment  undergoes  in  its  preparation  for  the  table. 
Such  knowledge  may  be  acquired  by  ordinary  men,  but 
before  a  claim  can  be  entertained  to  be  the  peer  of  such 
illustrious  names  as  Scott  and  Kemble  (at  whose  tables  I 
never  met  Mr.  Ward),  we  must  examine  further.  We 
must  scan  his  motives,  the  tendency  and  effect  of  his  ex 
ample,  and  the  character  of  his  followers.  Can  a  man's 
motives  be  laudable  who  gives  dinners  to  men  who  have 
claims  against  the  Government,  and  who  promote  him  to 
be  "  king  of  the  lobby  "  ?  Can  the  effect  and  example 
of  entertainments  be  commendable  when,  instead  of  in 
spiring  a  disposition  to  virtuous  deeds  they  incline  a  man 
to  commit  more  sin  ?  And,  finally,  is  a  man  a  good  pa 
triot  among  whose  adherents  we  find  so  many  scurvy 
politicians,  blatant  demagogues,  worldly  theologians,  in 
triguing  courtiers,  trencher  friends,  revellers,  and  time 
serving  minute-jacks  ?  I  think  otherwise. 

Few  persons  ever  held  him  to  an  account  for  his  sins, 
or  undertook  to  ascertain  his  depth.  It  struck  me,  how- 


Ward's  Character.  75 

ever,  that  he  was  lacking  in  that  which  gives  complete 
ness  to  genius  and  permanence  to  enterprise.  He  was 
fond  of  excitements  that  are  near  and  notorious,  and  if 
he  hid  himself  it  was  for  effect.  He  loved  poetry  the 
charm  of  which  is  cheerful  in  sound,  like  that  of  Camp 
bell  and  Longfellow,  but  Shakespeare  was  to  him,  as  far 
as  I  could  observe,  incomprehensible.  He  lived  a  stranger 
to  the  inspired  prophets,  and  was  unmoved  by  the  won 
ders  of  creation. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Scott  as  a  Christian. — His  dislike  for  religious  controversy. — Expression  of 
religious  belief. — His  manner  of  worship. — Comparison  of  eminent 
preachers  in  French  and  English. — Strength  of  Scott's  convictions. 

"  Let  never  day  nor  night  unhallowed  pass, 
But  still  remember  what  the  Lord  hath  done." 

THAT  which  most  ennobles  humanity  is  a  belief  in  the 
Christian  religion,  compared  with  which  the  grand 
est  earthly  prize  is  an  unsubstantial  trifle.  The  man  who 
clearly  recognizes  the  truth  of  revelation  is  permitted  to 
know  by  intuition  more  of  the  works  of  the  Almighty 
than  the  greatest  scientist  can  learn  of  the  properties  of 
matter  in  all  its  forms,  combinations,  and  changes.  The 
field  which  the  Christian  explores  is  illimitable  in  extent, 
and  filled  with  charms  that  continue  till  his  death,  which 
the  good  deplore. 

The  path  of  the  infidel  worldling  is  narrow  and 
crooked,  and  ends  in  confusion  and  misery.  The  pleas 
ures  he  pursues  are  bubbles  that  break  at  every  acci 
dent,  and  after  his  death  we  remember  nothing  of  him 
but  his  follies. 

It  is  my  purpose  to  describe  General  Scott  as  a  Chris 
tian,  in  the  broadest  sense  of  the  term,  and  not  as  a  sec 
tarian.  He  seemed  always  averse  to  religious  contro 
versy  and  to  estimate  its  futility  as  strongly  as  did  the 
author  of  the  following  stanza : 

"  Who  travels  in  religious  jars, 

Truth  mixed  with  error,  shades  with  rays, 
Like  Whiston  wanting  pyx  or  stars, 
In  ocean  wide,  or  sinks  or  strays." 


Chaplain  Warner.  77 

The  first  time  I  ever  heard  General  Scott  speak  of  re 
ligion  was  something  more  than  a  year  after  I  joined 
him.  It  was  during  a  long  conversation  he  then  had 
with  the  Reverend  Thomas  Warner,  who  was  at  the  time 
chaplain  and  professor  of  ethics  and  belles-lettres  in  the 
Military  Academy. 

The  general  was  fond  of  conversing  with  that  gifted 
clergyman,  for  whom  I  entertained  a  great  admiration.  I 
trust,  therefore,  that  a  concise  account  of  him  will  not  be 
out  of  place  here. 

Mr.  Warner  was  a  man  of  genius,  and  in  person  he  so 
strongly  resembled  General  Jackson  as  to  be  sometimes 
mistaken  for  that  old  hero.  Tall,  spare,  and  erect  in  car 
riage,  his  Roman  profile  and  full-thatched,  iron-gray  head 
and  handsome  face  were  lighted  up  by  a  pair  of  deep 
blue  eyes  that  changed  their  expression  with  every  emo 
tion  of  his  soul.  Though  a  clergyman,  he  was  passionate, 
ambitious,  and  more  haughty  than  beseems  a  follower  of 
the  meek  Redeemer.  He  was  also  morbid,  and  in  his 
moments  of  depression  he  would  lament  the  hardness  of 
his  youthful  lot,  which  entailed  upon  him  the  loss  of 
early  instruction.  He  would  also  speak  in  a  tone  of  bitter 
ness  of  having  married  a  woman  whom  he  supposed  to  be 
rich,  to  discover,  when  too  late,  that  "  she  had  not  a  cent ! " 

I  learned  more  from  Professor  Warner  in  the  section 
room  than  from  any  other  teacher,  and  I  sat  four  years 
under  his  preaching.  I  afterwards  heard  the  celebrated 
Dr.  Hawks  about  the  same  length  of  time.  I  could  never 
decide  which  of  the  two  could  read  the  Episcopal  Ser 
vice  better,  or  was  more  eloquent  in  the  pulpit,  each 
being  superior  to  any  other  divine  I  had  listened  to. 
The  polish  of  Mr.  Warner's  language  and  the  music  of 
his  rich  tenor  voice  attracted  General  Scott,  who  was 
pleased  to  converse  with  him. 


78  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

In  the  year  1835  the  inhabitants  of  West  Point  were 
shocked  by  the  death  of  Cadet  Carter,  who  was 
killed  accidentally  while  fencing  with  one  of  his  most  in 
timate  friends.  The  button  of  his  opponent's  foil  came 
off,  and  the  bare  point  of  the  weapon  passed  through 
young  Carter's  eye  to  his  brain,  inflicting  a  wound  from 
which  he  died  in  a  few  days.  Hearing  of  the  accident 
Chaplain  Warner,  without  first  seeking  permission  from 
the  superintendent,  hastened  to  the  hospital  to  administer 
consolation  to  the  dying  youth,  and  for  this  disregard  for 
the  regulations  the  reverend  gentleman  was  placed  in  ar 
rest.  He  was  afterwards  released,  and  he  came  down  to 
the  headquarters  of  the  Eastern  Division  in  New  York 
to  discharge  his  fancied  griefs  into  the  ear  of  General 
Scott.  I  was  present  at  the  interview,  and  can  never  for 
get  how  fiercely  the  fire  of  resentment  can  burn  in  the 
breast  of  a  Christian  pastor. 

I  had  witnessed  the  anger  of  Mr.  Warner  on  many 
occasions  while  I  was  a  cadet.  One  Sunday  morning  he 
came  to  the  chapel  following  the  cadets.  It  was  evident 
from  the  expression  of  his  face  and  the  nervous  move 
ments  of  his  hands  that  he  was  out  of  humor,  and  when 
he  observed  that  one  cadet  did  not  rise  with  all  the 
others,  as  prescribed  by  the  ritual,  he  leaned  over  his 
desk,  pointed  sharply  at  the  seated  youngster,  and  ex 
claimed  :  "  I'll  thank  you  to  rise ! "  The  color  left  his 
face,  and  his  voice  and  eyes  displayed  the  extreme  of 
anger.  After  holding  the  young  cadet  under  his  wild 
gaze  a  whole  minute,  he  resumed  his  erect  position,  and 
proceeded  with  the  service.  His  anger  continued,  and  in 
his  sermon  he  evidently  strayed  from  his  notes  to  attack 
sin  and  the  indifference  of  sinners,  with  unusual  vehe 
mence. 

The  displeasure  shown  on  the  above  occasion  was  as  a 


Chaplain  Warner.  79 

flash,  compared  with  the  torrent  of  vengeful  eloquence  he 
poured  out  to  General  Scott.  He  pictured  his  obligation 
as  a  minister  of  the  gospel  to  fly  to  the  bedside  of  the 
dying  boy,  and  declared  that  no  human  regulation  could 
prevail  with  him  against  such  a  sacred  duty.  He  attacked 
the  superintendent,  and  upbraided  the  surgeons  for  in- 
competency,  saying  that  with  proper  treatment  the  youth 
might  have  been  saved.  General  Scott  listened  to  his 
visitor  with  patient  attention,  and  did  not  even  comment 
on  the  chaplain's  mistaken  views  of  military  orders  and 
regulations,  but  was  so  much  excited  by  his  fervor  that  he 
began  to  comment  on  certain  grievances  of  his  own,  and 
in  the  course  of  his  remarks  the  general  uttered  several 
oaths,  taking  God's  name  in  vain.  For  such  rudeness  and 
impropriety  he  quickly  corrected  himself,  and  apologized 
to  Mr.  Warner.  His  excuse  was  that  he  had  contracted 
the  vile  habit  of  profanity  in  his  youth,  and  although  he 
had  constantly  striven  to  correct  himself  it  would  some 
times  break  out  in  moments  of  great  excitement.  "  But 
for  this  bad  habit,"  continued  the  general,  "  I  have  for 
several  years  considered  myself  a  good  Christian." 

Mr.  Warner  left  the  office  apparently  content  with  his 
reception,  and  in  a  short  time  his  connection  with  the 
Military  Academy  was  severed.  Subsequently  he  became 
the  domestic  chaplain  of  Colonel  Herman  Thorn,  who 
was  maintaining  in  Paris  such  a  state  as  often  to  cloud 
the  grandeur  of  King  Louis  Philippe  and  his  court.  The 
gorgeous  household  of  Colonel  Thorn  was  enhanced  by 
the  splendid  presence  and  gracious  voice  of  Mr.  Warner ; 
but  harmony  between  two  such  incongruous  characters 
could  not  long  subsist,  and  they  soon  separated.  The 
sermons  which  he  had  composed  and  preached  in  the 
fashionable  establishment  Mr.  Warner  afterwards  exhibit 
ed  as  "  Good  seed  sown  among  thorns."  Finally,  his 


8o  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

purse  and  credit  being  exhausted,  he  was  lodged  in  the 
Clichy  Prison  of  Paris.  He  was  there  at  the  time  Lieu 
tenant  Halleck  (afterwards  General  Halleck)  while  on  a 
visit  to  the  French  capital,  called  to  pay  his  respects. 
Mr.  Warner  came  forward  with  a  smile  to  greet  him,  and 
said :  "  I  was  sick  and  in  prison,  and  ye  visited  me." 

The  sad  example  of  Mr.  Warner  is  worth  preserving. 
He  was  a  firm  believer  in  Christianity,  and  a  man  of  pure 
morals,  as  well  as  a  refined  genius.  His  presence  when 
not  excited  was  uncommonly  striking  and  dignified,  and 
but  for  his  impatience  and  ungovernable  temper  he  would 
have  achieved  the  highest  honors  of  the  church  to  which 
he  belonged. 

The  declaration  of  General  Scott  that  he  considered 
himself  a  good  Christian  was  not  belied  at  any  time  by 
my  observation  of  his  conduct.  The  manifestations  of 
his  piety  were  in  accord  with  his  general  character.  He 
was  not  of  the  abject,  despondent  class  of  Christians 
whose  feebleness  inclines  them  to  be  always  leaning  on 
the  Lord,  nor  timid  like  the  Publican,  who  in  terror  cried 
for  mercy  from  a  remote  corner  of  the  Temple  ;  but  he 
modelled  after  the  Centurion,  who  boasted  of  his  high 
commands  and  whose  robust  faith  was  approved  by  our 
Saviour.  He  often  read  the  Bible  on  Sundays,  and  when 
I  approached  he  would  say,  "  I  am  searching  the  Scrip 
tures."  He  was  an  habitual  attendant  at  the  Episcopal 
Church,  and  his  deportment  during  the  service  was  char 
acteristic. 

Let  us  follow  him  into  the  sanctuary  through  the  high 
est  arched  gate  where  he  has  passed.  When  at  home 
he  generally  carried  a  splendid  gold-headed  cane,  which 
was  a  present,  and  as  strong  as  the  staff  of  Jacob. 
This  cane  he  took  with  him  to  church,  and  on  being 
seated  in  his  pew  he  would  superpose  his  two  hands,  the 


Scott's  Religion.  8 1 

one  above  the  other,  on  this  cane,  bend  forward,  and  offer 
a  silent  prayer.  His  length  of  limb  made  it  difficult  for 
him  to  kneel,  and  I  never  saw  his  knee  touch  the  earth  in 
adoration,  nor  did  I  ever  hear  him  pray  audibly.  In 
church,  throughout  the  service,  he  always  rose  at  the 
proper  time  and  stood  bolt  upright.  His  responses  were 
uttered  in  a  full  voice,  and  with  such  distinctness  as  to  be 
heard  far  around.  The  dignity  with  which  he  rose,  and 
the  grace  with  which  he  resumed  his  seat,  were  wonder 
fully  conspicuous. 

Prejudiced  and  uncharitable  persons  might  infer  from 
the  foregoing  description  that  General  Scott's  religion  was 
Pharisaical.  It  was,  however,  quite  the  contrary.  The 
typical  Pharisee  of  Scripture  was  unsocial,  sour,  and 
devoted  to  self.  General  Scott  was  cheerful,  grateful, 
and  his  abundant  benevolence  was  the  offspring  of  a 
generous  nature.  His  Creator  had  been  bountiful  to  him 
in  the  bestowal  of  physical  health  and  strength,  and  a 
sturdy  moral  sense.  His  playfulness,  his  occasional  out 
bursts  of  temper,  his  adjurations  and  a  few  venial  sins, 
were  the  natural  result  of  a  redundant  energy.  When  he 
entered  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  and  stood  erect  before 
the  Altar,  his  motive  was  to  show  that  he  had  not 
neglected  the  talents  confided  to  him.  He  did  not  affect 
the  outward  shows  of  asceticism,  but  his  frequent  ejacu 
lation  was,  "  Rend  your  hearts  and  not  your  garments." 

He  considered  the  sanctions  of  Holy  Writ  essential  to 
a  lofty  character,  and  he  was  an  habitual  reader  of  the 
Bible.  The  prayers  and  sublime  liturgies  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  many  of  which  are  found  in  the  Episcopal  Prayer 
Book,  never  failed  to  attract  and  interest  him.  Other  re 
ligious  books  he  seldom  perused,  and  although  he  was  an 
attentive  hearer  of  sermons,  he  read  not  many  of  such  as 
are  in  print.  So  far  as  I  could  observe,  he  was  ignorant  of 
4* 


82  Fifty  Years1  Observation. 

the  sacred  literature  of  France,  notwithstanding  his  resi 
dence  in  that  country.  The  Spanish  tongue  displays  the 
majesty  of  heavenly  truth,  that  of  France  reveals  its  love 
liness.  Nowhere  is  the  shrine  of  the  Redeemer  and  His 
blessed  Mother  adorned  with  more  appropriate  emblems 
of  piety,  nor  can  there  be  conceived  a  form  of  worship 
more  devout  in  its  supplications,  or  submissive  in  its 
tenderness  and  trust,  than  that  we  see  and  hear  in  the 
French  cathedrals.  The  number  of  eminent  preachers  is 
not  great,  although  there  has  been,  and  there  still  remains 
a  number  of  pulpit  orators  of  surprising  brilliancy.  It  is 
doubtful  if  there  has  been  found  among  English-speaking 
ecclesiastics  one  who  could  match  the  fervent  beauty  and 
power  of  Bossuet,  Massillon,  or  Bourdaloue  of  the  past,  or 
of  Lacordaire,  Vallet  and  a  few  others  of  the  present 
century. 

After  a  careful  survey  of  his  character,  there  can  be  no 
question  that  General  Scott's  religious  faith  was  deep  and 
strong,  and  proof  against  the  assaults  of  sceptics  and  in 
fidels.  His  morality  was  founded  on  religion  and  unvary 
ing  integrity.  An  excess  of  ambition  and  jealousy  of 
rivals,  of  which  he  seemed  unconscious,  were  but  the 
attendants  of  his  lofty  aspirations,  and  for  these  we  are 
permitted  to  hope  the  Divine  Master  has  pardoned  him. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Puritanism. — Its  nature,  its  benefits,  and  its  dangers. — A  study  of  Puritan 
ism. — Its  origin. — The  first  Puritans. — Result  of  Puritan  instruction. — 
Puritans  and  Catholics  in  the  conversion  of  the  heathen. — Puritan  beliefs 
concerning  private  judgment. — Character  of  our  present  government 
derived  from  Puritanism. 

THE  opportunities  that  I  have  enjoyed  to  study  Pu 
ritanism  have  been  such  as  to  impress  its  charac 
teristics  strongly  upon  my  mind.  When,  as  a  green  boy, 
I  entered  the  Military  Academy,  I  was  full  of  the  vague 
apprehensions  and  the  fearful  sense  of  accountability  that 
are  infused  in  the  minds  of  all  Puritan  children.  There  I 
commenced  the  battle  of  life  with  youths  from  every  State 
in  the  Union,  the  majority  of  whom  were  ignorant  of  the 
nature  of  Puritanism,  which  I  had  supposed  was  universal 
and  infallible. 

At  the  end  of  two  years  of  hard  study  and  seclusion,  I 
went  home  on  furlough,  and  was  asked  by  my  brother 
what  I  had  learned  at  West  Point.  I  replied  that  I  had 
learned  a  great  deal  of  mathematics,  a  little  French,  and 
military  tactics.  I  also  told  him  that,  if  the  Southern 
boys  with  whom  I  associated  were  right,  all  I  knew  be 
fore  going  to  the  Military  Academy  was  one  wrong  way 
to  do  a  few  things. 

Before  going  to  West  Point,  I  had  never  been  in  an 
Episcopal  or  a  Roman  Catholic  church,  and  all  I  knew  of 
the  plan  of  salvation  was  derived  from  Presbyterians, 
Congregationalists,  Methodists  and  Baptists — all  of  whom 
I  class  together  as  Puritans  in  their  relations  to  political 


84  Fifty   Years'  Observation. 

and  civil  life.     I  had  also  read  many  sermons  of  those 
sects,  and  a  few  of  their  books. 

The  first  time  I  attended  the  chapel  of  the  Academy 
and  saw  the  dignified  person  of  Mr.  Warner,  invested  in 
his  Episcopal  robes,  heard  him  read  the  Litany  and  all 
the  prayers  from  a  book,  I  was  profoundly  impressed  with 
the  strange  contrast  before  me  to  the  forms  of  worship  to 
which  I  had  been  accustomed.  When  I  saw  the  congre 
gation  stand  up  to  sing,  and  kneel  down  to  pray,  I  asked 
myself,  why  is  this  ?  From  that  day  and  hour  I  began  in 
voluntarily  to  study  Puritanism  and  to  reflect  upon  its 
origin.  The  more  I  observed  the  more  I  was  confused, 
and  I  am  not  yet  certain  that  I  can  define  it  clearly,  or  to 
tell  precisely  how  it  originated.  Nevertheless,  I  have  con 
vinced  myself  that  it  is  characterized  by  many  negations, 
and  that  it  has  been  the  cause  of  wonderful  modifica 
tions  in  the  civilized  religious  governments  of  men ;  and 
notwithstanding  it  may  appear  presumptuous  in  me  to 
attack  so  mighty  a  subject,  I  am  going  to  describe 
Puritanism,  its  benefits  and  its  dangers,  as  they  appear 
to  me. 

If  we  can  imagine  an  original  community  of  human 
beings  all  in  as  perfect  health  of  body  and  mind  as  the 
race  admits,  and  all  ignorant  of  the  strifes,  diseases,  suc 
cesses  and  miscarriages  that  in  the  future  would  come  to 
agitate  their  spirits  and  modify  their  character,  and  if  we 
suppose  that  a  superior  intelligence  had  observed  our  p^o- 
gcnitors  in  such  a  condition  of  pristine  purity,  and  fore 
told  the  possible  changes  their  descendants  might  under 
go,  what  would  have  been  the  conclusion  ?  It  would  have 
been  easy  to  foresee  that  violence,  lust,  pride,  avarice,  in 
justice,  ambition,  poverty,  hypocrisy,  wrath,  tyranny,  ig 
norance,  servility,  and  superstition  would  largely  prevail ; 


Puritanism.  85 

and  that  there  would  also  be  found  benevolence,  fortitude, 
self-abnegation,  chastity,  sobriety,  liberality,  justice,  frank 
ness,  piety,  and  forgiveness,  but  there  was  nothing  to  in 
dicate  that  a  Puritan  would  ever  be  possible.  It  remained 
after  many  generations  and  until  folly,  crime,  ignorance, 
submission  to  wrong,  sorrow,  tyranny  and  superstition 
had  wrought  their  effects,  embittered  existence,  corrupted 
the  healthful  currents  of  life,  made  men  desperate  and 
reckless  by  exactions  and  hopeless  suffering,  that  a  class 
of  men  could  be  generated  who  would  thrust  aside  and 
reject  all  hitherto  existing  customs,  manners,  usages, 
modes  of  thought,  forms  of  rule  and  worship,  and  treat 
as  worthless  and  beneath  contempt  every  insignia  of 
sacerdotal,  civil  and  military  rank,  all  the  devices  of 
heraldry,  and  every  token  of  inequality  among  men.  In 
addition  to  all  that,  it  was  necessary  to  suppress  or 
subdue  the  pleasures  of  sense,  destroy  all  the  forms  of 
beauty  which  had  hitherto  been  engraved  on  stone  and 
traced  on  canvas,  or  wrought  on  gems,  metals,  wood  and 
tissues,  and  to  forbid  their  renewal ;  to  add  to  the  list  of 
sins  dancing,  music,  plays,  sports,  fashions,  hilarity,  and 
every  diversion  that  nature  craves ;  and  finally  to  incul 
cate  in  children  an  idea  that  all  the  thoughts,  exemptions, 
immunities  and  privileges  of  the  magistrates,  of  courts, 
camps  and  church  are  wrong,  and  force  them  to  believe 
that  to  hate  kings,  lords,  and  the  pope  is  a  supreme  duty, 
and  that  there  was  no  beauty  but  the  beauty  of  Puritan 
holiness.  Finally,  that  future  salvation  could  only  follow 
an  overworked,  joyless  life  of  unbroken  sadness.  When  we 
contemplate  the  folly,  injustice,  presumption,  and  cruelty 
of  human  domination  in  the  ages  that  are  past,  we  are  in 
no  way  surprised  that  such  a  race  of  desperate  men  should 
have  arisen.  That  they  could  gain  proselytes,  however, 
when  they  proclaimed  open  war  on  all  the  pleasures  and 


86  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

diversions  of  youth,  all  the  worldly  ends  and  aims  of  man 
hood,  and  all  the  earthly  prizes  of  ambition,  surprises  us 
beyond  expression.  Yet  all  that  was  accomplished, 
and  Puritanism  became  the  mightiest  power  of  all  the 
world. 

The  original  Puritans  were  destitute  of  arms,  equip 
ments,  and  generals.  They  had  no  baggage  but  the 
Bible,  a  slate,  and  spelling-book,  and  for  music  they  sub 
stituted  dolorous  hymns  and  canticles  recited  in  nasal 
tones.  The  bounties  they  offered  for  recruits  were  hard 
work  and  meagre  fare  312  days  in  the  year,  long  written 
sermons  to  hold  up  the  horrors  of  Catholicism  and  im 
penitence,  and  extempore  prayers  52  days,  and  one  day 
for  thanksgiving.  Their  numbers  increased  slowly  in  the 
Old  World,  and  the  scorn  of  the  aristocrats  threatened 
them  with  annihilation,  until  the  choicest  spirits  among 
them  gathered  together  and  went  across  the  ocean  to 
plant  a  colony  in  New  England.  It  was  a  far-off,  cold, 
rocky  outpost,  where  every  man,  woman,  and  child  was 
obliged  to  work  or  starve,  and  it  was  there  they  organized 
the  relentless  war  they  afterwards  waged  against  all  the 
strongholds  of  tyranny,  privilege,  and  ignorance.  They 
advanced  upon  the  old  civilizations,  and  never  abandoned 
a  position  they  had  once  gained.  They  could  not  be 
frightened,  because  they  were  bound  by  a  terrible  dogma, 
which  cannot  be  described,  and  which  they  called  "  prin 
ciple,"  and  is  superior  to  fear  ;  nor  could  they  be  bought 
by  kings  and  priests,  because  they  had  nothing  the  Puri 
tans  valued  to  offer  them.  The  hopelessness  of  the  task 
served  only  to  add  to  the  dogged  energy  of  the  workers, 
and  what  the  democracy  of  Greece,  and  all  the  rebellious 
assemblages  from  Mons  Sacra  to  the  battle  of  Jemappes 
wholly  failed  to  accomplish,  was  finally  established  by  the 
unfaltering  obstinacy  of  the  Puritans.  Tyrants  were  cowed, 


Dangers  of  Puritanism.  87 

and  as  a  consequence  the  people  now  legislate  for  them 
selves,  without  molestation  or  constraint. 

The  results  of  Puritan  instruction  and  example  have 
been  to  set  free  the  human  genius  and  to  unshackle  its 
energies.  The  whole  earth  has  been  surveyed,  the  secrets 
of  chemistry  and  magnetism  unveiled,  the  mechanic  powers 
vastly  developed,  comforts  and  plenty  immensely  multi 
plied,  universal  suffrage  and  education  established  with 
us,  and  both  demanded  in  all  the  other  civilized  nations 
of  the  world.  Such  are  the  benefits  and  effects  which 
must  be  imputed  to  Puritanism,  and  now  it  is  proper  to 
state  the  dangers  to  which  it  apparently  tends,  and  the 
evils  that  may  hereafter  arise  from  it. 

Originally  one  of  the  chief  elements  of  Puritanism  was 
religion  of  a  peculiar  character,  which  was  evidenced  by 
an  austere  sanctity,  a  lack  of  ornament,  and  a  fierce  icono- 
clasm.  The  characters  and  habits  of  thought  were  so 
inculcated  in  its  youthful  votaries,  that  a  man  might  lose 
his  religion  and  not  cease,  apparently,  to  be  a  Puritan. 
Moreover,  at  the  breaking  off  from  the  old  primitive  church 
which  had  preserved  the  rites  and  traditions  of  Christi 
anity,  although  lewd  and  corrupt  men  were  found  among 
its  ministers,  the  Puritans  had  indulged  in  many  spite 
ful  negations  which  were  repugnant  to  reason,  and  set 
an  example  of  discontent  and  rebellion  against  laudable 
things.  Hence  the  multiplication  of  sects,  and  the  in 
crease  of  scepticism,  which,  as  it  frequently  lapses  into  in 
fidelity,  threatens  the  whole  fabric  with  destruction  and 
the  loss  of  the  greatest  benefit  and  solace  to  man,  which 
is  the  Church  of  Christ. 

There  was  another  defect  in  Puritanism,  which  appears 
like  an  instinct  when  acting  upon  savage  and  heathen 
races  of  men.  The  Puritans  in  all  cases  in  which  they 
have  undertaken  to  evangelize  the  barbarians  have  failed, 


88  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

because  they  have  required  them  first  to  become  Puritans, 
which  was  an  impossibility.  Wherever  the  Puritan  mis 
sionaries  have  appeared  in  contact  with  them,  the  abo 
rigines  of  this  continent  have  withered  and  disappeared 
like  the  green  herbage  upon  which  a  cloud  of  locusts 
has  settled.  I  asked  our  representative  at  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  General  McCook,  what  they  had  taught  the 
Kanakas.  "  They  have  taught  them  discontent,"  said 
he ;  "  and  every  one  of  them  that  is  old  enough  knows 
how  to  read  and  write,  and  the  race  is  disappearing  with 
fearful  rapidity." 

In  contrast  let  us  observe  the  Catholics  among  the 
heathen,  and  especially  what  the  Jesuit  fathers  have  ac 
complished,  and  how  they  proceeded.  Once  in  Rome  I 
enjoyed  the  honor  of  a  long  conversation  with  the  Gen 
eral  of  the  Jesuits,  and  had  several  interviews  with  his 
gifted  secretary,  Father  Armilini,  S.  J.  They  showed  me 
the  spot  in  the  cell  where  we  conversed  where  St.  Ignatius 
Loyola  wrote  the  constitution  of  their  society,  where  he 
took  his  meals,  where  he  slept,  where  he  prayed,  and 
where  he  died.  They  told  me  that  in  all  his  writings  and 
instructions  to  his  followers  he  inculcated  the  necessity 
of  first  studying  the  characters  of  the  people  to  whom 
they  ministered.  They  were  required  to  acquaint  them 
selves  clearly  with  the  impulses,  modes  of  thought,  and 
all  the  peculiarities  of  the  heathen,  and  of  all  unbelievers 
of  every  nation  and  sect,  and  then  to  lead  them  out  of 
their  errors  into  the  Catholic  Church.  In  that  manner 
they  succeeded  in  civilizing,  converting,  and  preserving 
many  savage  tribes,  and  arresting  infidelity. 

On  the  Pacific  coast  of  our  own  country  the  benefi 
cence  of  their  labors  was  apparent  in  the  well-being  of 
many  Indians,  but  when  the  breath  of  our  countrymen 
fell  upon  them  they  perished  almost  immediately.  The 


Dangers  of  Puritanism.  89 

labors  of  the  Puritans  are  most  effective  among  those  who 
prize  comfort  and  "  progress."  If  St.  Ignatius  had  taught 
his  followers  to  study  mechanics,  and  to  preach  thrift  and 
convenience,  there  would  have  been  no  Puritans. 

There  is  another 'dangerous  tendency  in  Puritanism, 
which  arises  from  the  unabridged,  unregulated  right  of 
private  judgment  in  matters  of  religion,  and  from  the  ab 
solute  universality  and  equality  of  the  suffrage  which  it 
inculcates.  The  two  operating  together,  besides  the  en 
couragement  they  give  to  infidelity,  operate  to  produce 
political  and  social  equality,  which  if  it  could  be  estab 
lished  would,  in  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Johnson,  destroy  all 
happiness  but  physical  happiness.  Absolute,  universal, 
and  equal  suffrage  cannot  prove  beneficent  in  the  end, 
unless  the  majority  of  mankind  are  good.  If  they  are  so, 
then  we  must  conclude  that  the  wise  men  of  Greece,  the 
inspired  writers  and  prophets  of  old,  and  the  experience 
of  the  best  men  of  all  ages  and  all  countries  have  been 
erroneous.  It  is  true  that  many  of  the  old  Puritans  were 
made  so  arrogant  by  their  austerities  that  they  called  in 
question  the  wisdom  of  the  Creator  in  making  man  as  he 
is,  and  they  have  endeavored  to  change  his  essential  dis 
position,  but  thus  far  they  have  not  wholly  succeeded. 
Absolute  equality  of  suffrage  was  never  admitted  on  a 
large  scale  until  we  in  the  United  States  adopted  it  since 
the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  Wherever  it  has  approached 
nearest  to  equality  in  fully  populated  countries  it  has  in 
variably  terminated  in  disaster.  Its  deluded  advocates 
in  our  country  have  been  encouraged  by  the  facility  of 
gaining  subsistence  from  our  vast  fertile  territory.  As 
soon  as  the  public  domain  is  disposed  of,  and  the  price 
of  all  lands  enhanced,  there  will  be  no  more  room  for 
easy  expansion,  and  the  agrarian  spirit  will  make  head 
against  property,  which  is  the  fundamental  basis  of  all 


90  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

human  society.  Children  are  now  born  who  will  live  to 
see  the  suffrage  abridged,  or  to  witness  the  spilling  of 
more  blood  on  account  of  exactions,  principally  through 
taxation,  peculation,  and  legal  plunder,  than  was  shed  on 
account  of  negro  slavery. 

The  character  and  policy  of  our  Government,  as  it  is 
now  administered,  and  the  prevailing  system  of  education, 
are  the  result  of  Puritanism.  Our  wealth,  prosperity,  and 
power  excite  the  envy  of  the  world,  and  yet,  uncon 
sciously  to  most  people,  we  are  sowing  the  seeds  of  de 
struction.  Our  system  of  common  schools,  as  they  are 
conducted,  inculcates  in  the  minds  of  the  youth  of  both 
sexes  the  idea  that  the  right  of  indigent  children  to  a 
luxurious  education  at  the  expense  of  others  is  a  perfect 
right,  for  which  no  acknowledgment  of  respect  or  grati 
tude  is  due  from  them.  The  teachers  are  mostly  of  the 
same  conviction,  and  the  result  is  a  diminution  of  respect 
for  age  and  duty  to  parents,  aversion  to  necessary  subor 
dination,  an  agrarian  idea  of  property,  and  a  general  con 
tempt  for  manual  labor.  This  state  of  things  can  be  en 
dured  without  any  very  obvious  disturbance,  so  long  as 
we  can  command  foreign  "  help "  to  do  our  drudgery, 
while  cheap  land  is  to  be  had,  and  until  overcrowding  of 
population  begins  to  multiply  its  foul  brood  of  evils.  If 
the  present  rate  of  increase  continues,  that  state  of  things 
will  be  established  within  the  next  fifty  years.  After 
that  the  shrinking  process  will  commence, — the  foot  of  the 
grown  man  must  be  diminished  to  fit  the  shoe  of  the 
child,  and  the  irremediable  horrors  of  an  over-dense  popu 
lation  will  be  apparent  to  all  persons  except  such  as  de 
rive  their  happiness  from  the  misfortunes  and  sufferings 
of  their  fellow-beings. 

In  this  chapter  it  has  been  my  purpose  to  give  an  idea 
of  the  origin  and  essential  qualities  of  Puritanism,  as  well 


Puritan  Theories.  91 

as  its  effects  upon  governments,  civilization  and  manners. 
The  theory  of  the  Puritans  seems  to  be  subject  to  many 
disputes  and  rapid  changes.  It  appears  to  me  that  it  is 
less  characterized  by  the  religious  element  than  by  politi 
cal  equality,  or  freedom,  as  it  is  called.  Upon  that  sub 
ject  it  would  be  needless  for  me  to  enlarge. 

No  one  can  fail  to  observe  the  immense  stream  of  util 
ity  that  has  its  origin  in  Puritanism,  and  we  see  that  many 
of  our  most  able,  honest,  and  enterprising  citizens  are  of 
Puritan  descent,  but  they  have  lost  the  grimness  of 
their  forefathers. 

The  Puritan  theories  of  benevolence  are  too  sentimental 
for  me.  I  confess  that  I  am  not  willing  to  contribute 
to  teach  every  indigent  child  contempt  for  any  kind  of 
necessary  labor,  nor  to  play  on  grand  pianos  at  the  pub 
lic  expense.  I  would  not  allow  all  the  idle,  vicious, 
penniless  vagabonds  to  vote,  especially  the  aliens,  but 
I  would  give  every  child,  however  destitute,  an  oppor 
tunity  to  learn  to  read,  write,  and  cipher,  and  every 
one,  rich  and  poor,  should  be  admitted  upon  equal  con 
ditions  to  pursue  every  calling  in  life  to  gain  his  bread, 
and  every  able-bodied  needy  person  should  work  or  starve. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  evils  of  foreign  immigration.  —  Scott  opposed  to  foreign  immigration. 
—  My  study  of  his  opinions.  —  Overcrowded  population  in  Europe.  — 
Anecdotes.  —  Future  of  immigration  in  the  United  States.—  Foresight 
of  Scott  on  this  question. 


SCOTT  was  evidently  opposed  to  giving 
V_J  encouragement  to  foreign  immigration,  and  he 
thought  our  future  well-being  as  a  nation  would  be  best 
promoted  by  native  increase  of  population.  I  infer  that 
he  would  have  denied  the  suffrage  to  foreign-born 
men,  and  that  he  had  given  some  attention  to  the  evils 
incident  to  too  many  people  to  the  square  mile  while 
he  was  in  Europe.  When  I  was  with  him,  I  was  ig 
norant  of  those  evils,  and  they  had  not,  until  quite  re 
cently,  begun  to  be  apparent  in  our  country.  I  have 
since  made  myself  familiar  with  them  to  an  extent  that 
would  require  a  volume  to  explain.  I  will  give  a  few 
examples. 

The  vast  majority  of  Americans  who  travel  in  Europe 
have  no  eyes  for  the  dark  caverns  of  misery,  and  no 
care  but  for  luxury  ;  and  the  doings  of  the  favorites  of 
fortune  and  fashion  shape  all  their  conclusions.  For 
tunately  for  me,  before  I  visited  Europe  my  opportu 
nities  had  enabled  me  to  observe  all  the  devices  of  fash 
ion,  which  are  similar  throughout  the  world.  The 
manners  of  such  as  feel  secure  and  easy,  and  the  man 
ners  of  those  who  seek  to  enter  the  charmed  circle  by 
reason  of  newly-gotten  gold,  are  so  various  as  to  defy 


Overcrowded  Pop  illation.  9  3 

description.  This  latter  class  of  Americans  is  quite  nu 
merous  in  Europe,  and  the  vigor  with  which  they  display 
their  wealth  and  court  notoriety,  although  I  was  often 
amused  and  agreeably  entertained  by  them  at  rare  in 
tervals,  had  fewer  attractions  for  me  than  many  other 
things. 

I  employed  my  time  in  studying  the  monuments  of  ages 
that  are  past,  and  to  learn  from  them  the  history  of  igno 
rance,  cruelty,  oppression,  folly,  and  suffering,  as  well  as 
the  proofs  of  labor,  ingenuity,  fortitude,  affection,  and 
piety,  to  which  the  human  race  has  been  subject.  Above 
all  else  was  I  interested  to  learn  the  effect  of  overcrowd 
ing  of  population  upon  the  poor,  and  upon  all  those  un 
fortunate  persons  who  have  miscarried  in  their  designs, 
or  who  were  born  to  the  heritage  of  misery. 

In  Paris  with  my  family  I  occupied  one  of  ten  apart 
ments  in  a  large  house ;  each  of  the  apartments  had  an 
average  of  eight  rooms,  including  a  kitchen  for  each. 
The  concierge  and  his  wife  lived  on  the  ground  floor, 
and  occupied  a  space  of  eight  feet  by  twenty  feet  for  re 
ception  or  business  room,  kitchen,  and  bedroom,  upon 
which  the  sun  never  shone,  and  which  received  light  from 
one  barred  window.  The  concierge  and  his  wife  were 
intelligent  and  respectable,  and  one  of  them  was  obliged 
to  be  present  throughout  every  day  and  night  of  the  year. 
They  must  attend  to  the  door,  to  receive  and  transmit 
messages  and  parcels  for  ten  families,  and  to  keep  in  per 
fect  order  the  stairway  and  elevator  in  a  building  six 
stories  high,  for  all  of  which  the  proprietor  paid  them  $25 
per  month  without  board.  In  the  course  of  time  the 
wife  of  the  concierge  gave  birth  to  a  son.  Two  days 
after  the  birth  the  landlord  made  his  appearance  and  noti 
fied  the  mother  that  she  might  retain  her  child  till  he  was 
eight  days  old,  and  then  she  must  send  him  away,  which 


94  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

she  did.  The  landlord  also  notified  the  parents  that  if 
they  had  another  child  they  could  not  remain  in  his  house. 
The  French  people  could  see  nothing  strange  or  un 
usual  in  the  landlord's  conduct,  and  the  concierge  said 
he  must  submit,  as  hundreds  of  couples  would  be  very 
glad  to  get  his  place  on  any  conditions. 

Within  a  year  past  the  vast  body  of  government  em 
ployees  in  Paris,  finding  the  pittance  allowed  them  in 
sufficient  for  their  subsistence,  now  that  provisions  are 
nearly  twice  as  dear  as  they  are  in  San  Francisco,  vent 
ured  to  draw  up  a  petition  for  an  increase  of  wages. 
The  petition,  after  representing  the  hardships  of  the 
signers,  asked  for  relief  in  terms  of  respect  which  ap 
peared  to  me  humiliating.  No  notice  but  insult  was 
given  to  the  appeal,  and  several  members  of  the  Govern 
ment  regarded  the  petition  as  seditious,  and  thought  all 
the  signers  should  be  discharged  ;  and  this  under  French 
Republican  rule  ! 

In  Provence,  which  is  in  the  southeastern  portion  of 
France,  the  three  principal  sources  of  wealth  that  the  in 
habitants  relied  on  for  subsistence  have  been  nearly  cut 
off  within  the  last  twenty  years,  viz.:  Madder  for  dyes 
has  been  displaced  by  a  chemical ;  olive  trees,  which  have 
decayed  in  vast  numbers,  and  vines,  which  have  been 
nearly  destroyed  by  the  phylloxera.  I  asked  an  intelli 
gent  farmer  how  the  poor  people  (and  nearly  all  are  poor) 
lived.  His  reply  was  that  their  principal  food  was  beans. 

In  Switzerland,  especially  in  the  Maritime  Alps,  the 
hardships  are  more  obvious  than  in  any  portion  of 
France.  The  steep  sides  of  the  mountains  are  terraced 
with  infinite  labor,  and  when  the  rain  washes  away  the 
soil  it  is  carried  up  again  in  baskets  by  men,  women,  and 
children.  Sometimes  the  drought  destroys  or  cuts  short 
the  harvest,  and  then  terrible  suffering  ensues.  In  the 


Conditions  in  Europe.  95 

most  favorable  seasons  a  comfortable  subsistence  can  only 
be  secured  by  the  incessant  toil  of  both  sexes  from  in 
fancy  to  old  age. 

Italy  presents  in  many  places  still  more  startling  scenes 
of  misery  than  France  or  Switzerland.  Hereditary  lack  of 
proper  nourishment  has  resulted  in  dreadful  diseases,  for 
which  there  is  no  possible  remedy  but  a  better  supply  of 
food.  Before  I  went  to  Italy  I  was  told  that  "  laziness," 
which  many  prejudiced  persons  suppose  to  be  an  invariable 
incident  of  "  Popery,"  was  the  cause  of  the  poverty  I  wit 
nessed.  The  falseness  of  that  supposition  is  demonstrated 
by  the  eagerness  with  which  our  people  seek  for  Catholic 
Belgian,  French,  Swiss,  Italian,  and  Portuguese  gardeners. 
The  care,  diligence  and  skill  of  one  of  those  will  double 
the  product  of  an  equal  area  of  ground  over  the  waste 
and  neglect  of  one  of  our  native-bred  laborers.  Instead 
of  *•  laziness "  being  apparent  in  the  husbandry  around 
Milan,  Florence,  Bologna,  and  Naples,  I  found  the  lands 
labored,  caressed,  and  coaxed  to  yield  as  abundant  har 
vests  as  in  any  part  of  the  world.  In  Naples  I  was  told 
that  many  laborers  considered  themselves  rich  if  they  had 
six  cents  per  day  to  subsist  on — viz.,  two  cents  for  wine, 
two  cents  for  maccaroni,  one  cent  for  vegetables,  and  one 
cent  for  tobacco.  A  robust  young  laborer  of  Antwerp 
told  me  there  were  many  men  in  Belgium  as  good  as  him 
self  who  only  tasted  meat  once  a  year.  There  are  dens 
of  filth  and  squalor  in  all  the  large  cities  of  Europe  which 
I  never  cared  to  inspect,  but  within  a  month  I  have  seen 
an  official  report  of  the  condition  of  the  poor  in  Paris, 
which  states  that  the  city  now  contains  over  46,000  indi 
gent  families  (menages),  but  the  families  average  a  fraction 
less  than  three  in  each.  It  is  well  known  that  in  France 
the  growth  of  population  is  checked  by  immoral  prac 
tices.  Unthinking  observers  usually  impute  those  prac- 


g6  Fifty   Years    Observation. 

tices  to  other  than  their  true  cause.  I  once  asked  a 
French  woman,  who  was  the  manager  of  a  large  hotel, 
why  she  had  only  one  child.  "  Because,"  said  she,  "  I 
can't  afford  to  have  more  !  " 

In  England  they  are  now  speculating  on  the  best 
method  of  arresting  the  increase  of  population.  One  of 
the  means  practised  is  to  ship  great  numbers  of  paupers 
and  vicious  persons  to  America  at  the  public  expense. 
The  same  is  done  and  has  long  been  practised  on  an  ex 
tensive  scale  in  the  continental  countries  of  Europe,  es 
pecially  in  Switzerland,  Italy,  and  Germany.  Enforced 
emigration  is  necessary  from  those  regions  where  the  soil 
has  been  more. or  less  exhausted,  and  where  the  animal 
forces  of  men,,  women,  and  children,  horses,  mules,  oxen, 
cows,  donkeys,  and  dogs,  are  taxed,  often  to  excess,  to 
gain  a  bare  subsistence  that  our  poorest  people  would 
scorn.  In  those  countries  there  is  not  half  as  many  idlers 
proportionately  as  we  find  in  all  parts  of  the  United 
States. 

Those  examples  ought  to  influence  the  patriot  and  man 
of  foresight  among  us  to  withhold  all  encouragement  to 
foreign  immigration.  The  first  step  should  be  to  repeal 
all  naturalization  laws,  and  only  to  constitute  one  voting 
citizen  at  a  time  from  an  alien  by  an  act  of  Congress. 
Our  Consul  at  Zurich,  Switzerland,  Mr.  Byers,  has  inves 
tigated  the  evils  I  am  speaking  of,  and  he  is  strongly  in 
favor  of  regulating  emigration,  with  a  view  to  diminish  it. 
That  is  made  the  more  necessary  by  the  average  increase 
in  the  length  of  human  life,  which  is  due  chiefly  to  ma 
chinery  and  easy  transportation.  Forty  years  ago  the 
labor  of  travelling  and  moving  goods  on  land  and  by  sea 
and  of  cultivating  the  soil  was  so  great  as  to  exhaust  our 
people  prematurely  and  to  shorten  life. 

I  have  not  visited  many  of  the  pagan  countries,  but 


Scott  on  Foreign  Immigration.  97 

every  one  ought  to  be  aware  of  the  indescribable  horrors 
of  overcrowding  of  population  in  India,  China,  and  Japan. 
With  our  present  rate  of  increase  of  population,  the 
United  States  will,  at  the  end  of  125  years,  contain  a 
greater  number  of  inhabitants  to  the  square  mile  than 
either  of  those  countries.  A  hundred  years  in  the  dura 
tion  of  a  well-governed  State  ought  to  be  considered  as 
one  year  in  the  life  of  a  man,  and  the  time  will  very 
shortly  arrive  when  the  curses  of  all  good  citizens  will  fall 
thick  upon  the  names  of  those  silly  enthusiasts  and  sordid 
grovellers  who  now  exert  themselves  to  promote  emigra 
tion  from  any  country  in  the  world. 

The  foresight  of  General  Scott  could  not  be  more  strik 
ingly  exemplified  than  by  the  fact  that,  when  all  our  do 
main  from  the  immediate  borders  of  the  Mississippi  River 
to  the  Pacific  Ocean  was  an  uncultivated  wilderness  and 
the  haunt  of  savages  and  wild  beasts,  he  clearly  foresaw 
the  evils  that  would  arise  from  a  too  rapid  increase  of 
foreigners  among  us,  and  gave  a  note  of  warning  against 
it. 

It  is  proper  that  I  should  analyze  the  kind  of  govern 
ment  to  which  in  his  heart,  it  appeared  to  me,  General 
Scott  aspired.  My  conclusions  are  the  results  of  the 
boundless  confidence  he  reposed  in  me,  and  are  not 
wholly  derived  from  his  writings,  nor  his  speeches,  when 
he  sought  the  Presidency.  It  would  be  idle  for  him,  or 
any  other  man,  to  hope  to  be  Chief  Magistrate  of  the 
United  States  who  could  not  heartily  pay  his  court  to  the 
Irish  and  Germans.  Not  because  the  votes  of  those  two 
nationalities  tend  to  secure  good  laws  and  good  execu 
tion  of  them,  but  because  of  their  clannishness,  and  the 
imperiousness  with  which  their  numbers  and  wealth  en 
able  them  to  sway  legislation  and  to  modify  our  customs. 
His  awkwardness  as  a  stump  speaker  was  in  part  due  to 
5 


98  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

the  fact  that,  being  in  the  canvass,  he  was  obliged  to  act 
a  part  that  was  foreign  to  *his  convictions  in  many  par 
ticulars. 

General  Scott  would  never  have  sought  the  counsel  nor 
suffered  the  dictation  of  the  alien  element  in  our  midst  to 
frame  the  government  of  his  choice ;  otherwise  his  plans 
were  as  broad  as  the  limits  of  his  country.  He  would 
have  scanned  the  theories  and  weighed  the  maxims  of 
sobriety  and  industry  of  the  Puritans.  He  would  have 
given  heed  to  the  martial  spirit  and  social  graces  of  the 
holders  of  slaves,  though  he  would  have  gladly  discarded 
their  peculiar  institution.  He  had  learned  from  the  Jews 
how  commendable  it  is  in  children  to  love  and  honor 
their  parents.  He  reverenced  religion,  but  would  have 
inculcated  tolerance  and  absolute  freedom  of  conscience. 
He  was  learned  in  scripture ;  he  had  imbibed  the  spirit 
of  civil  prudence  from  Shakespeare,  the  lessons  of  history 
and  the  essential  attributes  of  man,  and  he  was  convinced 
that  certain  degrees,  not  lapsing  in  tyranny,  but  founded 
in  merit,  experience,  talent,  services,  and  age,  are  neces 
sary  to  give  stability  and  dignity  to  human  governments. 

The  degrees  he  would  have  encouraged  are  such  only 
as  spring  from  innate  or  well-earned  superiority,  and  such 
gifts  and  services  as  are  employed  for  the  benefit  of 
society,  in  whatever  rank  they  are  found.  Often  did  he 
call  my  attention  to  laboring  men  in  his  employ,  and 
would  say:  "  Young  gentleman,  that  man  you  see  work 
ing  in  his  shirt-sleeves  does  his  duty  faithfully,  and  you 
are  bound  to  respect  him  as  though  he  were  clothed  in 
scarlet." 

No  man  could  have  been  more  careful  than  he  to  re 
spect  the  feelings  and  to  guard  the  rights  of  all  persons 
who  toil  in  the  inferior,  or  rather  in  the  least  conspicuous, 
fields  of  industry.  On  the  other  hand,  he  rejected  all 


Scott's  Ideal  Government.  99 

propositions  coming  from  idlers  and  dissolute  people,  as 
well  as  from  enthusiasts  and  dreaming  humanitarians, 
who  go  about  to  correct  abuses  and  remedy  evils  which 
they  have  not  investigated. 

The  essential  quality  of  the  government  to  which  Gen 
eral  Scott  aspired  was  healthfulness  in  all  its  elements. 
He  could  not  imagine  the  possibility  that  bad  seed  could 
produce  a  good  harvest,  or  that  a  sickly  tree  could  pro 
duce  wholesome  fruit.  Neither  did  he  think  it  reason 
able  to  encourage  or  to  permit  large  bodies  of  aliens  wl:o, 
in  the  contests  of  the  Old  World,  have  been  degraded  L»y 
reason  of  their  physical,  mental,  and  moral  weaknesses 
and  their  crimes,  to  come  among  us,  to  exercise  the  suf 
frage,  to  make  laws,  and  to  corrupt  our  youth  with 
vicious  examples.  Hence  his  intense  repugnance  to  the 
race  of  extreme  humanitarians.  It  has  been  said  that 
whole  nations  from  time  to  time  become  insane,  and  that 
fact  is  sufficiently  established  by  many  enactments  and 
usages  of  past  ages.  But  was  there  ever  a  period  in  the 
history  of  mankind  in  which  insanity  was  more  apparent, 
or  more  to  be  deplored,  than  we  find  it  in  many  of  our 
learned  citizens  and  highest  functionaries,  who  strive  to 
bring  within  our  borders  the  oppressed  and  downtrodden 
of  the  whole  world,  and  to  constitute  them,  politically, 
the  equals  of  our  best  citizens.  Such  false  philanthro 
pists  are  the  architects  of  ruin.  They  always  build  the 
monuments  of  human  folly  so  high  that  they  tumble 
down  before  the  crowning  statue  can  be  put  up.  What 
is  called  liberty  with  us  is  fast  turning  to  license  and 
communism. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

A   REVIEW    OF    THE    AUTOBIOGRAPHY    OF    GENERAL   SCOTT. 

Scott's  character  as  exhibited  in  the  book. — His  comments  on  events.—* 
Burr's  trial. — Wilkinson. — War  with  England. — The  quarrel  with  Jack 
son. — Anecdotes  of  Jackson. — Van  Buren's  Administration. — Troubles 
in  Canada. — Anecdotes  of  a  journey  with  Scott. — Scott  in  the  South. — 
The  Cherokees. — Scott  as  a  politician. — His  opinions. — Benton. — The 
autobiography  on  the  Mexican  War. 

AT  the  time  the  autobiography  of  General  Scott 
issued  from  the  press  I  was  away,  and  for  several 
years  succeeding  my  whole  attention  was  given  to  my 
private  affairs.  The  comments  of  the  critics  were  not  in 
all  cases  flattering  to  his  work,  and  as  it  happened  that 
his  book  never  came  into  my  hands,  my  omission  to  read 
what  he  had  written  was  entirely  accidental,  and  fortunate, 
as  it  served  to  verify  the  impressions  of  his  character 
which  long  personal  intercourse  with  him  had  left  in  my 
memory. 

To  me  it  is  not  surprising  that  a  person  should  under 
value  General  Scott,  if  he  only  knows  him  from  his  auto 
biography.  When  the  general  attempts  to  describe  his 
own  good  qualities  he  frequently  appears  like  a  boaster, 
and  the  petulance  of  his  irritable  disposition  finds  vent  in 
many  pages.  I  intend  to  trace  the  filaments  of  his  true 
character  through  his  writings,  and  to  disentangle  them, 
as  far  as  I  am  able,  from  the  cankers  that  gathered  upon 
them  in  the  gloom  of  his  declining  years. 

The  general's  comments  on  the  trial  of  Aaron  Burr  for 
treason  are  concise  and  pleasant  to  read.  A  hundred 
times  did  I  hear  him  speak  of  that  trial,  at  which  he  was 


Scott's  Autobiography.  101 

present,  and  it  always  appeared  to  me  that  he  disliked 
Jefferson  as  much  as  he  did  Burr.  He  never  failed  to  ex 
press  his  hostility  to  any  man  who  dabbled  with  the  unity 
of  these  States,  but  he  was  seldom  as  emphatic  in  his  de 
nunciations  as  he  is  in  his  book,  in  which  he  exclaims  : 
"  It  is  a  striking  fact  that  three  of  our  Vice-Presidents — 
Aaron  Burr,  J.  C.  Calhoun,  and  J.  C.  Breckinridge — be 
came,  each  in  his  day,  a  leader  in  treason." 

During  the  trial  of  Burr,  and  soon  after  he  had  been  ad 
mitted  to  the  bar,  Scott  was,  as  he  declares,  first  seized 
with  a  desire  to  become  a  soldier,  and  there  was  not  in 
him  the  making  of  a  first-class  lawyer.  He  might  have 
been  a  respectable  counsellor,  but  as  a  pleader  before  a 
jury  he  would  have  failed.  In  the  whole  domain  of 
history  that  I  have  searched  I  have  found  no  proof  that  a 
great  general  could  be,  or  could  have  been,  a  great  jury 
lawyer. 

The  character  of  mind  essential  to  a  successful  jury 
lawyer  must  be  such  that  he  can  conform,  pliantly  and 
without  seeming  effort,  to  every  cause,  and  advocate 
either  side  with  equal  sincerity  and  zeal.  He  must  be  elo 
quent  alike  for  judge  and  jury,  and  able  to  know  human 
nature  at  a  glance  in  all  its  customary  and  accidental  con 
ditions,  and  quick  to  address  the  proper  argument  neces 
sary  to  convert  to  his  own  purpose  all  whom  he  seeks  to 
convince  or  control.  He  must  have  groans  always  at  com 
mand,  and  be  as  ready  to  shed  tears  as  Leonarda  in  the 
robbers'  cave.  Finally  he  must  know  when  he  has  con 
vinced  the  court  and  jury,  and  when  to  quit  and  sit 
down.  It  is  the  privilege  of  the  great  advocate,  such  as 
I  have  described,  to  release  the  assassin,  and  let  the  mur 
derer  go  unpunished — to  acquit  the  thief,  and  justify  the 
betrayer  of  trusts — to  give  credit  to  perjurers  and 
slanderers,  and  to  enable  confederate  villains  to  pillage 
industrious  and  to  cloud  the  names  of  innocent  men. 


IO2  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

Scott's  military  career  commenced  as  captain  of  light 
artillery,  and  on  the  3d  of  May,  1808,  which  is  the  date 
of  his  first  commission.  His  comments  upon  the  state  of 
the  army  at  that  time  display  a  spirit  of  fairness,  and  he 
records  the  names  and  merits  of  officers  uninfluenced  by 
the  pique  and  jealousies  that  subsequently  warped  his 
judgment  of  some  of  them.  Referring  to  the  officers  com 
missioned  at  about  the  same  time  with  himself,  he  thrusts 
at  President  Jefferson,  whom  he  accuses  of  contempt  for 
the  military  character  consequent  upon  his  hostility  to 
those  men  who  achieved  our  independence.  Not  only 
were  Jefferson's  appointments  to  the  army  generally  bad, 
but  those  commissioned  by  Jackson,  Polk,  and  Pierce 
were  of  a  similar  character.  Such  was  the  opinion  of 
General  Scott,  who,  it  must  be  understood,  was  hostile  to 
the  four  Presidents  above  named.  At  the  same  time, 
much  to  his  honor,  Scott  pays  a  compliment  to  the  West 
Point  Academy,  the  benefits  of  which,  although  he  did 
not  enjoy  them,  he  estimated  throughout  the  whole  of 
his  life  as  highly  as  any  one  of  its  graduates. 

It  was  in  the  year  1809  when,  after  a  leave  of  absence 
and  visit  to  the  North,  Captain  Scott  rejoined  his  com 
pany,  that  his  natural  repugnance  to  rivals  and  such  as 
stood  in  his  way  becomes  apparent.  Scott  had  expressed 
his  belief  that  the  Department  Commander,  Wilkinson, 
under  whom  he  served,  was  a  confederate  in  Burr's  trea 
son.  Wilkinson  and  Scott  could  not  have  lived  or  acted 
together  in  harmony  under  any  possible  conditions. 
Each  thought  the  other  vain  and  weak,  and  Scott's  sug 
gestion,  which  was  subsequently,  as  he  states,  verified — 
that  Wilkinson  was  a  traitor — was  for  that  reason  the 
more  distasteful  to  the  latter.  It  verifies  the  French 
maxim,  "  There  is  nothing  but  the  truth  that  always 
offends,"  and  it  gave  rise  to  an  intensely  malignant  feud. 
Wilkinson  charged  Scott  with  having  gambled  away  the 


Horace  Greeley.  103 

money  he  had  received  to  pay  his  soldiers,  and  the  accu 
sation  is  recorded  in  Wilkinson's  Memoirs.  General 
Scott  never  detailed  the  whole  affair  to  me,  but  he  ex 
plained  it  fully  in  his  autobiography,  and  he  gives  the 
finding  of  the  court-martial  which  tried  him,  and  in  which 
these  words  appear :  "  The  court  have  no  hesitation  in 
acquitting  the  accused  [Scott]  of  all  fraudulent  intentions 
in  detaining  the  pay  of  his  men." 

There  was  nothing  unusual  in  Captain  Scott's  conduct. 
He  probably  was  negligent  or  forgetful  of  a  small  item, 
but  his  accounts  had  not  been  settled,  and  the  charge 
against  him  was,  as  I  judge,  a  simple  ebullition  of  per 
sonal  spite.  Nevertheless  something  remained  of  it  to 
be  employed  against  him  subsequently  by  his  political 
opponents.  I  remember  that  in  the  first  canvass  of 
General  Scott  for  the  Presidency,  Horace  Greeley  came 
to  me  in  the  cars  one  day  and  asked  me  to  explain 
Wilkinson's  charge  against  Scott  for  using  his  soldiers' 
money.  I  was  not  then  able  to  detail  all  the  facts,  but  I 
told  Mr.  Greeley  that  the  charge  was  slanderous,  and  that 
it  arose  from  a  transaction  usual  in  the  army,  and  which 
was  the  result  of  forgetfulness  or  slight  error  in  accounts. 

I  had  never  before  seen  Mr.  Greeley,  who  was  then 
beginning  to  attract  notice  as  the  editor  of  the  New  York 
Tribune.  At  that  time  he  was  about  thirty-five  years  old, 
round-faced  and  healthful,  with  blue  eyes  and  very  light 
hair.  The  restless  eagerness  of  his  interrogations  denoted 
the  character  he  afterwards  established,  which  enabled 
him  to  change  his  convictions  or  ruling  texts  and  hobbies 
as  suddenly  as  a  bird  in  a  cage  hops  from  one  perch  to 
another.  Mr.  Greeley  was  a  man  of  good  intentions,  but 
he  made  the  grand  mistake  of  killing  himself  with  over 
work,  in  order  to  leave  the  world  better  than  he  found  it, 
and  to  be  President. 


IO4  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

Having  been  falsely  accused  by  General  Wilkinson  and 
suspected  by  his  enemies  of  having  appropriated  to  his 
own  use  the  money  due  to  his  men,  it  is  proper  that  I 
should  give  my  own  solemn  opinion  of  General  Scott's 
integrity. 

During  many  years  I  was  intimate  with  his  minutest 
pecuniary  and  business  transactions,  as  I  have  been  with 
a  vast  number  of  others,  and  among  them  all  not  one  has 
appeared  to  me  to  be  a  more  perfect  model  of  honesty 
than  Winfield  Scott.  It  was  impossible  for  him  to  cheat ; 
he  was  so  unsuspiciously  honest  that  he  was  often  duped 
by  rogues.  My  old  friend,  the  glorious  Gouverneur 
Kemble,  while  he  was  at  the  head  of  West  Point 
Foundry,  often  manufactured  guns,  shot  and  shells  for 
the  United  States.  At  one  time  Mr.  Kemble  received  in 
his  office  a  man  who  brought  from  General  Scott  a  letter 
of  introduction,  which  contained  fulsome  praise  of  the 
individual's  good  character  and  fitness  to  have  a  contract. 
As  soon  as  Mr.  Kemble  finished  reading  the  letter  the 
bearer,  in  the  most  unblushing  manner,  submitted  a  plan 
by  which  they  could  cheat  the  Government.  All  this  I 
had  from  Mr.  Kemble's  own  lips,  and  he  agreed  with  me 
that  General  Scott  was  incapable  of  dishonesty. 

The  manner  in  which  Scott  describes  the  part  he  took 
in  the  war  with  England,  of  1812,  displays  to  perfec 
tion  his  aspirations  and  his  ardent  ambition.  He  seems 
indifferent  to  fatigue  and  seeks  the  post  of  danger  on 
all  occasions.  His  jealousy  of  prerogative  never  forsakes 
him,  and  he  refuses  to  join  the  expedition  against 
Queenstown  which  had  already  been  organized  with 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Van  Rensellaer  in  command,  because 
his  own  commission  of  the  same  grade  was  the  older. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Fenwick  had  waived  rank,  but  Scott 
declined,  and  he  only  consented  to  cross  and  assume  the 
command  after  Van  Rensellaer  had  been  wounded  and 


Scott  on  Armstrong.  105 

disabled.  He  fought  desperately,  but  was  overwhelmed  by 
numbers  and  taken  prisoner. 

Scott,  having  been  paroled  and  afterward  exchanged, 
resumed  his  military  duties  in  January,  1813.  His 
references  to  the  operations  of  the  army  on  the  north 
ern  frontier  during  the  year  make  us  acquainted  with 
a  succession  of  disasters  that  were  due  to  unskilful 
combinations  and  incompetent  commanders.  He  pays 
a  tribute  of  respect  to  Major-General  Dearborn,  on 
whose  staff  he  served  for  a  while  as  chief,  and  to  the 
Secretary  of  War,  Armstrong.  When  he  announces  the 
instalment  of  the  new  commanding  officer,  General  Wil 
kinson,  September  4,  1813,  his  unsubdued  rancor  breaks 
forth  in  a  note  of  which  the  following  is  a  transcript: 
"  The  selection  of  this  unprincipled  imbecile  was  not 
the  blunder  of  Secretary  Armstrong.  Wilkinson,  whose 
orders  were  dated  March  10,  1813,  contrived  not  to 
reach  Fort  George  till  the  4th  of  September!" 

For  how  many  of  the  blunders  and  miscarriages  of  the 
year  1813  General  Wilkinson  was  responsible,  it  is  need 
less  for  me  to  inquire.  It  is  evident  that  Scott  regarded 
him  as  the  chief  offender,  and  hence  the  bitter  vindictive- 
ness  of  his  criticisms — a  vindictiveness  which  in  this 
instance  is  excusable.  General  Scott  was  a  perfectly 
honest  man  in  money  matters;  and  when  Wilkinson 
assailed  his  integrity  he  committed  an  offence  greater 
than  murder,  and  Scott  had  a  right  to  avenge  himself  by 
every  measure,  even  by  weapons  drawn  from  the  arsenals 
of  hell ! 

For  Mr.  Van  Buren,  who  was  emerging  to  notice  in 
1813,  notwithstanding  his  politics  and  friendship  for  Gen 
eral  Jackson,  Scott  always  retained  a  friendly  feeling. 
While  the  former  was  President  of  the  United  States  I 
was  often  present  when  the  two  gentlemen  met  to  discuss 
the  troubles  of  the  Canadian  frontier  and  the  removal  of 


106  Fifty   Years'  Observation. 

the  Cherokee  Indians.  Mr.  Van  Buren  appeared  to  be 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  subject  in  discussion,  and 
the  ease  as  well  as  the  suavity  of  his  manners  were  re 
markable. 

In  describing  the  campaign  of  1814,  Scott,  now  a 
brigadier-general  in  the  army,  displays  all  his  enthusiasm. 
A  spirit  of  fairness  pervades  his  narrative  generally  in 
regard  to  the  majority  of  his  associates,  although  the 
friends  of  his  commanding-general,  Brown,  found  fault 
with  Scott  for  arrogating  to  himself  the  lion's  share  of 
merit  for  the  victories  of  Chippewa  and  Lundy's  Lane, 
both  of  which  he  always,  in  his  subsequent  conversations 
with  me,  claimed  as  his  own. 

At  the  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane,  or  Niagara,  as  the  Eng 
lish  historians  more  properly  name  it,  which  was  fought 
mostly  after  dark  on  the  28th  of  July,  1814,  both  sides 
claimed  the  victory.  Both  commanders,  Brown  and 
Riall,  were  wounded,  and  the  latter  was  taken  prisoner ; 
and  it  was  there  that  Scott  himself,  at  the  moment  when 
he  supposed  the  victory  was  ours,  was  struck  down  by  a 
musket  ball  through  the  left  shoulder  joint,  and  carried 
from  the  field  unconscious  from  loss  of  blood  and  agony. 
It  was  that  terrible  wound,  the  solicitude  and  attentions 
which  it  secured  to  the  sufferer  from  many  persons  of  dis 
tinction,  his  gallant  achievements,  his  youth,  his  ardent 
ambition,  his  martial  stature,  his  confidence  in  himself, 
his  Southern  birth,  all  conspiring,  that  made  a  hero  of 
Winfield  Scott.  His  commanding  officer,  General  Brown, 
was  likewise  disabled  on  that  same  field,  and  in  that 
desperate  night's  conflict  Ripley,  Jesup,  O'Neil,  Hind- 
man,  Brady,  Porter,  and  Leavenworth  displayed  their 
valor  and  devotion ;  and  there  Miller,  by  the  personal 
order  of  General  Brown,  led  the  brilliant  charge  up  the 
hill,  captured  the  British  battery,  and  routed  the  enemy. 


Politics  in  1860.  107 

Few  more  gallant  achievements  grace  the  annals  of  war 
than  that  of  Miller,  and  yet  his  fame,  like  that  of  nearly 
all  the  brave  men  I  have  mentioned,  was  of  short  duration. 

The  history  of  that  year  was  discussed  at  Augusta  in 
the  spring  of  1839,  at  tne  time  he  was  there  to  settle  the 
Northeastern  boundary.  One  of  Governor  Fairfield's 
associates  shocked  the  general  with  two  astounding 
questions.  "What  was  the  date  of  the  battle  of  Chip- 
pewa?  "  Scott  answered  in  the  blandest  terms,  "  It  was 
July  5th,  1814."  Directly  afterward  he  turned  to  me 
and  said,  "There  is  fame  for  you."  The  next  question 
was,  "  General  Scott,  will  you  please  tell  me  what  State 
you  were  born  in  ?  "  "I  was  born  in  the  State  of  Vir 
ginia."  "  Ah  !  "  said  the  down-Easter,  "  I  always  thought 
you  were  a  native  of  Connecticut."  The  general  made 
no  further  remark,  but  in  the  evening,  after  his  visitors  had 
left,  he  found  mistakes  in  what  I  had  done  during  the 
day,  and  told  me  my  dancing  all  night  stupefied  my 
faculties. 

It  was  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  General  Scott  to 
attach  immense  importance  to  all  the  actions  in  which  he 
took  part,  however  trivial  they  might  be.  He  had  the 
art  of  magnifying  his  own  exploits  and  of  keeping  him 
self  in  view,  notwithstanding  he  had  many  stereotyped 
phrases  that  denoted  humility. 

General  Scott  thought  it  strange  that  a  man  should 
inquire  the  date  of  a  battle  twenty-five  years  after  it  was 
fought,  in  which  the  whole  combined  numbers  engaged 
on  both  sides  Was  considerably  less  than  ten  thousand 
men.  Since  our  civil  war,  and  after  the  public  mind  be 
came  surfeited  with  big  battles,  heroes  and  carnage,  and 
military  rank  was  vulgarized  by  a  flood  of  high  commis 
sions,  a  superior  officer,  who  has  commanded  more  men, 
and  been  more  under  fire  than  the  general  was  in  his 


io8  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

whole  life,  would  not  be  the  least  surprised  if  asked  by  an 
old  friend,  ten  years  after  the  war,  a  question  like  the 
following:  "Where  were  you  during  the  Rebellion?" 

Scott's  wound  completely  disabled  him  till  the  war  was 
over.  The  suffering  he  endured  on  his  journey  to  Phila 
delphia,  where  he  says  he  arrived  "  flattered  and  feeble," 
was  as  great  as  humanity  could  bear.  The  mischief  done 
to  the  shoulder-joint  could  not  have  been  repaired  even 
with  the  affectionate  skill  and  care  that  awaited  him,  if  the 
patient  had  not  been  young  and  healthful.  Fortunately 
he  had  always  been  a  stranger  to  those  baleful  dens  where 
young  men  void  of  understanding  repair  to  interfuse  their 
blood  with  ineradicable  poisons ;  and  the  fair  conduct  of 
his  early  manhood  had  charged  the  purple  current  of  his 
veins  with  a  balm  more  healing  to  his  wound  than 
all  the  lotions  of  a  thousand  Galens  and  the  admiring 
smiles  of  friends.  As  soon  as  his  convalescence  was  well 
advanced  he  sailed  for  Europe.  The  space  occupied  in 
his  book  by  the  account  of  his  doings  and  enjoyments  dur 
ing  the  year  he  was  absent  from  America  is  short.  His 
written  narrative  seems  like  a  pointless  story,  compared 
with  the  florid  anecdotes  of  persons  and  descriptions  of 
things  he  saw  while  he  was  abroad,  and  to  which  I  so  often 
listened  when  we  were  alone  together. 

The  general  gives  at  some  length  the  history  of  his 
quarrel  with  General  Jackson,  and  he  refers  to  Parton's 
Life  of  Jackson,  and  to  his  own  life  by  Mansfield,  for 
further  particulars.  His  own  references  to  the  hero  of 
New  Orleans  are  frequent  in  his  autobiography,  and  in 
his  conversations  with  me  Scott  spoke  of  Jackson  on 
numerous  occasions,  never  to  praise,  and  seldom  to  cen 
sure  with  severity.  He  entertained  no  personal  asso 
ciations  with  President  Jackson,  nor  with  any  member  of 
his  Cabinet  except  Mr.  Van  Buren.  He  often  referred  to 


Anecdotes  of  Jackson.  109 

Mr.  Woodbury  as  "  the  great  Levi,"  and  to  Mr.  Kendall 
as  "  the  great  Amos/'  with  neither  of  whom  did  he  ever 
exchange  a  word.  All  his  anecdotes  of  "  Old  Hickory  " 
related  mostly  to  the  ferocity  of  his  character,  which 
the  world  recognized  when  he  was  excited. 

From  Jackson's  admirers  I  heard  many  anecdotes  con 
cerning  him  which  General  Scott  omits.  From  Mr.  Bailey 
Peyton,  recently  deceased,  at  the  age  of  over  eighty 
years,  and  who  was  long  the  friend  and  associate  of  the 
occupant  of  the  Hermitage,  I  learned  that  General  Jack 
son  was  a  good  neighbor,  a  good  husband,  a  true  friend, 
and  an  honest  man.  From  an  old  officer  of  the  army  who 
was  in  the  staff  of  General  Jackson  in  his  Creek  campaign, 
I  was  told  that  he  was  a  stern  disciplinarian,  but  always 
just  and  mindful  of  the  good  service  of  officers  and  men, 
and  towards  the  sick  and  wounded  he  was  very  tender. 
He  required  every  man  under  him  to  do  his  full  duty,  and 
once,  as  they  were  marching  along,  an  officer  who  was  on 
foot  at  the  head  of  the  column  turned  aside  to  avoid 
the  water  which  the  men  had  to  pass  through.  The 
general  rode  instantly  forward,  ordered  the  officer  back  to 
his  place,  and  then  cursed  him  violently  in  the  presence 
of  the  troops.  At  another  time  complaint  was  made 
that  an  army  surgeon  was  shamefully  neglecting  a  sick- 
soldier.  Jackson  summoned  the  doctor  to  go  with  him 
to  the  tent  of  the  sufferer,  whom  he  questioned.  Find 
ing  that  the  case  had  been  exaggerated,  and  that  his 
own  favorite  pill  had  been  given  to  the  patient,  he 
went  away  appeased.  At  another  time  at  Nashville, 
while  he  was  a  young  man  and  member  of  a  club,  his 
associates  undertook  to  give  a  supper,  and  leave  him  out 
on  account  of  his  imperious  conduct.  Jackson  took  no 
notice  of  the  slight  till  near  the  end  of  the  feast,  when  he 
opened  the  door  of  the  hall,  and  stood  armed  a  minute  to 


no  Fifty  Years1  Observation. 

observe  the  company.  He  then  bounded  upon  one  end 
of  the  table,  walked  to  the  other  end,  shuffling  off  every 
thing  with  his  feet,  jumped  down,  walked  quietly  to 
the  door,  faced  about,  bowed,  and  left  without  having 
uttered  a  word. 

Dr.  Heiskell  of  the  army,  an  early  friend  of  mine,  was, 
before  he  joined  the  service,  the  domestic  physician  of 
General  Jackson,  and  lived  at  the  Hermitage.  He  was 
there  at  the  time  the  old  hero  was  first  elected  President, 
and  he  attended  Mrs.  Jackson  in  her  last  illness,  and 
was  present  when  she  died.  During  the  final  agony 
the  general  remained  upright  at  the  foot  of  the  bed. 
The  mind  fails  to  conceive  the  impressiveness  of  the 
scene,  and  if  I  could  recall  the  action  and  the  words 
of  my  friend  when  he  described  it,  I  should  chill  the  blood 
of  the  reader.  There,  silent  and  erect  like  a  statue, 
stood  that  tall,  unconquered  old  man,  his  white  hair 
bristling  upon  his  majestic  head,  his  lips  firmly  closed,  his 
face  pale,  his  eyes  gleaming  with  suppressed  rage,  and 
while  the  death-struggle  continued  he  did  not  move. 
When  all  was  over,  he  said,  "  They've  killed  her ! "  and 
then  for  five  minutes  longer  he  continued  mute,  and 
looked  upon  the  victim  of  slander  as  she  lay  dead 
before  him.  If  Salvator  Rosa  had  been  alive  and  a 
witness  in  that  chamber,  he  might  have  indued  the  linea 
ments  of  despair  and  vengeance  with  a  fiercer  expression 
than  any  he  has  left  on  canvas. 

While  he  was  young,  and  before  he  was  accepted  by  the 
world  as  an  extraordinary  personage,  Jackson  was  a  great 
swaggerer,  and  would  show  temper  at  the  most  trifling 
inattentions  towards  himself.  Later  in  life  his  man 
ners  became  easy,  and  his  appearance  was  that  of 
a  venerable  nobleman  of  a  kindly  disposition.  Senator 
Evans,  of  Maine,  told  me  that  he  was  present  at  the 


Characteristics  of  Jackson.  Ill 

White  House  in  Washington,  at  the  time  La  Fayette 
was  there  in  1824,  the  guest  of  the  nation,  and  great 
numbers  of  people  from  ail  parts  of  the  country  came  to 
see  the  French  marquis  ;  but  no  sooner  had  they  dis 
covered  that  the  hero  of  New  Orleans  was  seated  tran 
quilly  in  the  room  than  they  left  the  Frenchman  to  go 
and  stare  at  General  Jackson. 

His  force  of  will  enabled  him  to  put  down  nullification, 
to  extort  from  the  government  of  Louis  Philippe  an  in 
demnity  of  $5,000,000,  and  to  crush  Nicholas  Biddle  and 
the  United  States  Bank,  of  which  he  was  the  head.  No 
sooner  had  he  become  President  than  he  dismissed  all 
the  Federal  office-holders  who  had  opposed  his  election, 
and  filled  their  places  with  his  own  partisans,  giving  the 
preference  to  such  as  had  been  most  defamed  by  his  po 
litical  opponents.  When  his  Cabinet  Ministers  showed 
contumacy  in  regard  to  Mrs.  Eaton,  he  said  to  Colonel 
Bomford,  who  was  chief  of  the  Ordnance  Department, 
"  By  the  Eternal,  if  they  don't  submit,  I'll  sweep  every 
man  of  them  ! "  Soon  after  he  had  executed  his  threat, 
he  said  to  Bomford,  "  Didn't  I  tell  you  I'd  sweep  *em." 

The  old  Southern  politicians  told  me  he  was  a  great 
reader  of  newspapers,  and  that  he  calculated  political 
chances  with  singular  astuteness.  He  seldom  forgave  a 
man  who  offended  him,  and  what  it  was  that  reconciled 
him  to  Colonel  Benton,  who  one  night  attacked  him  with 
a  bowie-knife,  I  could  never  learn.  He  knew  how  to  dis 
semble,  and  many  of  his  outbursts  of  passion  were 
feigned,  and  when  it  was  his  purpose  to  persuade  his 
words  were  gentle  and  his  smile  as  sweet  as  the  vernal 
breezes. 

As  a  lawyer,  judge,  general,  politician,  president  and 
a  private  citizen,  he  was  equally  fearless,  and  when  op- 


112  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

posed  audacious  in  the  extremest  degree.  When  not 
opposed,  he  was  amiable  and  sympathetic,  and  in  the 
ordinary  business  of  life  he  was  ruled  by  prudence,  com 
mon  sense,  and  justice.  He  was  born  to  command,  and 
his  military  genius  was  of  the  first  order.  If  it  had  been 
put  to  the  test  in  a  great  war,  he  would  have  taken  rank 
with  the  most  renowned  commanders  of  the  world.  The 
possessor  of  the  qualities  I  have  described  could  not  fail 
to  be  the  idol  of  the  people,  who  never  held  him  respon 
sible  for  his  evil  deeds,  nor  their  results.  In  retirement 
he  was  revered,  and  when  old  age  had  subdued  him  he 
was  regarded  as  a  saint,  and  his  fellow-citizens  visited  the 
Hermitage  as  they  would  visit  a  shrine. 

It  is  obvious  that  in  a  personal  contest  with  General 
Jackson  almost  any  man  living  would  have  been  worsted. 
The  first  serious  quarrel  between  him  and  General  Scott 
originated  in  the  following  incident : 

Jackson  was  a  Major-General  in  the  regular  army,  in 
the  year  1817,  and  in  command  of  the  Division  of  the 
South,  with  his  headquarters  at  Nashville,  Tennessee. 
An  officer  of  topographical  engineers,  who  was  on  duty 
at  some  point  on  the  Ohio  River,  I  think,  but  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  Jackson,  received  an  order  direct  from  the 
acting  Secretary  of  War,  Graham,  to  leave  the  Depart 
ment  of  the  South,  and  report  for  duty  elsewhere.  Ac 
cording  to  Army  Regulations,  and  the  custom  of  service, 
the  order  should  have  been  forwarded  through  the  Divi 
sion  Commander.  The  violation  of  that  custom  in  the 
army  is  frequent  with  some  men,  but  in  ninety-nine  cases 
in  a  hundred  it  arises  from  a  desire  to  insult  and  degrade 
the  officer  who  is  thus  ignored,  and  its  non-observance 
indicates  a  mean,  malignant  spirit  in  the  violater.  I  am 
not  aware  that  General  Scott  ever  overslaughed  an  officer 


"  Old  Hickory  s"   Wrath.  113 

in  that  way,  except  in  cases  of  absolute  necessity,  and 
then  the  orders  were  simultaneously  forwarded  to  the 
superior  and  subordinate.  In  the  case  in  question,  the 
acting  Secretary  of  War  may  have  been  ignorant  of  cus 
tom,  and  probably  his  only  motive  in  sending  the  order 
direct  to  the  engineer  was  to  avoid  the  loss  of  time  by 
the  journey  to  Nashville. 

With  "  Old  Hickory  "  no  excuse  could  justify  or  palli 
ate  a  disregard  of  his  prerogative.  As  soon  as  he  learned 
the  facts,  he  issued  an  order  and  sent  it  to  every  post  in 
his  Division,  forbidding  all  officers  to  leave  his  command 
without  orders  from  him.  He  added  wrathful  expressions 
peculiar  to  himself,  which  I  am  unable  to  repeat,  as  the 
order  is  not  within  my  reach. 

General  Scott  often  told  me  it  was  at  the  end  of  a  din 
ner  party  in  New  York,  and  in  a  conversation  with  Gov 
ernor  De  Witt  Clinton,  as  the  two  sat  together  on  a  sofa, 
that  they  discussed  Jackson's  order,  which  he,  Scott, 
characterized  as  "mutinous"  The  remark  was  overheard 
by  a  politician  of  an  inferior  grade — "  a  sort  of  familiar" 
as  the  general  called  him — by  whom  it  was  reported  in  a 
letter,  or  newspaper,  sent  anonymously  to  Jackson. 

The  latter  enclosed  a  slip  from  the  newspaper,  and  in 
the  simplest  language  he  asked  if  the  charge  it  contained 
was  true.  Scott  instead  of  answering  the  question  cate 
gorically,  wrote  an  evasive  answer,  which  was  in  the  nat 
ure  of  a  homily.  It  aroused  the  wrath  of  the  old  lion 
of  the  Hermitage,  and  in  his  reply  he  poured  upon  its 
author  a  stream  of  vituperation  the  like  of  which  is  not 
to  be  found  in  any  book.  The  name  of  the  writer  of  the 
letters  of  Jimius  has  been  sought  in  vain  by  the  English- 
speaking  world  for  a  whole  century,  and  yet  the  severest 
of  those  letters  was  moderate  compared  with  the  one  in 


114  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

question.  In  it  Jackson  maps  out  the  extremes  of  his 
own  character.  He  apologizes  for  his  delay  in  answering 
Scott's  letter  by  stating,  in  the  commencement,  that  he 
had  been  absent  in  Knoxville,  where  he  had  gone  to  close 
the  eyes  of  a  friend.  It  was  needful  in  him  to  display 
the  tenderness  of  his  heart  by  telling  how  he  had  sat  by 
his  dying  friend,  whose  home  was  far  from  his  own ;  that 
duty  done,  he  proceeds  to  mangle  his  enemy.  A  wild 
boar  that  had  disemboweled  a  fawn  never  tore  the  vitals 
of  his  prey  with  a  more  heedless  cruelty  and  lack  of  sen 
timent  than  that  displayed  by  Jackson  as  he  tossed  the 
character  and  flung  into  sight  all  the  weaknesses  and 
vanities  of  his  assailant. 

The  autobiographer  would  have  us  to  infer  that  the 
wrong  done  by  "  this  ingenious  miscreant  from  vicari 
ous  hostility  and  love  of  mischief,"  was  aggravated  by 
the  suppression,  in  his  anonymous  communication,  of 
"  Scott's  praises  of  Jackson."  In  this  my  old  chief  is 
guilty  of  a  compound  blunder, — first,  in  thinking  that 
*'  Old  Hickory  "  would  resent  the  charge  of  "  mutinous 
conduct"  less,  because  it  was  qualified  by  any  kind  of 
compliment,  and  second,  in  supposing  that  he  was  capa 
ble  of  anything  but  faint  praise  to  a  rival.  The  simple 
truth  is  that  Scott  regarded  himself  as  the  most  able 
general  of  American  history,  and  the  grossest  stupidity 
could  have  detected  self-appreciation  in  him,  whenever 
he  spoke  approvingly  of  any  other  commander.  The  re 
membrance  of  his  controversy  with  Jackson  haunted 
Scott  till  the  day  of  his  death.  His  lost  ground  in  the 
beginning  which  he  could  never  regain. 

In  my  reference  to  those  two  illustrious  generals,  I 
have  thrown  off  all  reserve,  because  my  design  is  to  give 
my  full  impressions  of  both;  of  Jackson,  from  the  report 


Death  of  General  Brown.  115 

of  his  associates,  and  of  Scott  from  my  own  intimate  ac 
quaintance  with  him.  There  was  an  outspoken  frankness 
in  those  two  men  which  enabled  the  observer  to  judge 
their  natures  correctly.  In  one  respect  they  were  similar, 
and  they  resembled  all  other  distinguished  military  men 
in  this  particular.  Each  of  them  disliked  every  other 
man  who  had  the  actual  or  seeming  power  to  endanger 
his  own  laurels.  If  we  could  uncover  the  hearts  of  con 
querors  we  should  disclose  in  them  all,  with  rare  excep 
tions,  the  same  bubbling  cauldron  of  jealousy,  hate,  and 
contempt  for  their  rivals. 

After  his  return  from  Europe  in  1816,  Scott  employed 
a  portion  of  his  time  writing  for  the  magazines,  on  the 
subjects  of  temperance  and  morals,  and  in  the  study  of 
military  laws,  regulations,  and  infantry  tactics.  His  pur 
suits  were  interrupted  early  in  the  year  1828,  by  the 
death  of  the  general-in-chief  of  the  army,  Jacob  Brown, 
who  commanded  at  Chippewa  and  Lundy's  Lane,  where 
Scott  proved  himself  a  hero. 

Upon  the  death  of  Brown,  three  officers,  all  major- 
generals  by  brevet,  aspired  to  his  place.  Gaines  stood 
highest,  and  he  had  succeeded  in  having  his  name  on  the 
army  register  placed  above  that  of  Scott,  who  ranked 
him  a  month  as  major-general  by  brevet.  Macomb  was 
chief  engineer,  and  his  rank  had  been  cut  down  at  the  re 
duction  of  the  army  in  1821  to  that  of  a  colonel,  but  he 
still  held  his  commission  of  brevet  major  general,  which 
was  junior  to  the  other  two.  Macomb's  selection,  by 
President  Adams,  to  be  the  successor  of  Brown  was  due, 
as  the  autobiographer  would  have  us  believe,  to  the  in 
trigues  of  certain  ladies  whose  names  he  gives,  Mrs. 
Mason,  Mrs.  Rush,  and  Mrs.  J.  Q.  Adams.  The  offic- 
iousness  of  those  dames  was,  without  doubt,  very  active 
in  the  matter,  but  with  such  a  man  as  John  Quincy 
Adams  it  was  "  Beaucoup  de  bruit  et  peu  de  besogne"  He 


n6  Fifty   Years'  Observation. 

was  not  a  man  to  be  swayed  by  women,  and  if  he  had 
conformed  to  the  usual  rule  of  promotion  he  would 
have  made  Gaines  the  commanding  general;  but  he 
selected  Macomb,  and  he  violated  no  law  or  usage  by 
his  choice. 

Scott  went  astray  in  his  over-estimate  of  the  value  of 
brevet  rank,  and  his  argument  failed  to  convince  even 
those  officers  of  the  army  whose  interests  resembled  his 
own.  I  was  in  a  position  subsequently  to  have  been 
worried  if  his  reasonings  had  been  just.  During  eight 
years,  while  I  was  captain  and  commanded  a  company  of 
artillery,  my  first  lieutenant,  George  P.  Andrews,  was  a 
major  by  brevet.  He  was  twice  breveted  for  gallant 
conduct  in  the  Mexican  war,  but  he  never  pestered  me 
with  any  claim  of  precedence,  nor  did  he  assert  a  right 
to  be  advanced  before  me  to  the  lineal  rank  of  major ;  on 
the  contrary,  our  relations  were  then  and  have  remained 
till  this  day  entirely  friendly. 

In  the  year  1832,  the  South  Carolinians  passed  an  ordi 
nance  of  nullification.  President  Jackson  met  it  with  his 
famous  exclamation,  "The  Union  must  and  shall  be  pre 
served  !  "  He  called  Scott  into  consultation,  ordered  him 
South,  and  gave  him  carte  blanche  in  respect  to  the  troops. 
Scott  executed  his  mission  with  energy  and  tact,  at  the 
same  time  that  he  displayed  the  strength  of  his  Union 
sentiments.  Congress  having  passed  the  Compromise  act 
the  South  Carolinians  rescinded  their  nullification  ordi 
nance,  and  Scott  returned  to  Washington  to  receive  the 
congratulations  of  Mr.  Van  Buren  and  other  friends, 
President  Jackson  himself  "  deigning  a  few  terms  of 
measured  praise." 

During  the  troubles  referred  to  Mr.  Lewis  Cass  was 
Secretary  of  War,  but  I  am  unable  to  find  in  the  autobi 
ography  that  he,  or  any  other  Northern  man,  had  a  hand 
in  the  putting  down  of  nullification.  The  Southerners 


Scott  and  Jackson.  117 

evoked  the  evil  spirit  of  disunion,  and  it  was  for  them  to 
exorcise  it.  Scott  alludes  to  several  South  Carolinians 
and  Virginians  in  loving  terms,  and  his  letter  to  William 
C.  Preston,  who  had  joined  the  nullifiers,  had  the  charm 
of  an  Eastern  tale. 

I  was  present  in  Charleston  and  heard  Mr.  Preston's 
funeral  oration  upon  the  death  of  the  Hon.  Hugh  S. 
Legare",  in  1843.  His  polished  manners,  his  voice  and 
action  enabled  him  to  recite  the  history,  and  to  give  a 
wonderful  relief  to  the  character  of  that  accomplished 
statesman.  At  another  time  I  heard  Mr.  Preston  speak 
in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  It  was  upon  the 
Florida  War,  and  he  followed  Mr.  Benton.  Old  Bullion's 
arguments  were  like  the  strokes  of  a  sledge-hammer,  but 
Preston's  discourse,  though  it  sounded  like  sweet  music, 
had  but  little  recognizable  coherence  with  his  sub 
ject. 

I  find  a  paragraph  in  the  autobiography,  commencing 
page  259,  which  is  so  strikingly  characteristic  that  I  make 
no  excuse  for  transcribing  it  entire.  The  dinner  alluded 
to  was  the  only  occasion  on  which  the  two  eager  men 
ever  broke  bread  together. 

"  Scott  being  on  a  short  visit  to  Washington,  had  the 
honor  to  be  invited  to  dine  with  President  Jackson,  and 
was  further  complimented  by  being  assigned  to  conduct 
an  agreeable  lady,  to  him  a  stranger,  to  the  table,  where 
he  was  desired  to  place  her  between  the  President  and 
himself.  Towards  the  end  of  the  sitting  General  Jackson 
said  to  the  fair  lady,  in  a  tone  of  labored  pleasantry — that 
is,  with  ill-disguised  bitterness :  1 1  see  you  are  pleased 
with  the  attentions  of  your  neighbor.  Do  you  know  that 
he  has  condemned  all  the  measures  of  my  administra 
tion  ? ' 

"  Mrs.  was  perfectly  shocked.  Scott  promptly 

replied :  '  Mr.  President,  you  are  in  part  mistaken.  I 


Fifty  Years    Observation. 

thought  well  of  your  proclamation  against  nullifiers,  and 
yesterday  I  was  equally  pleased  with  your  special  message 
on  the  French  indemnity  question  which  I  heard 
read.' 

"  '  That  is  candid,'  retorted  the  President.  '  He  thinks 
well  of  two,  but  two  of  my  measures ! '  The  lady  evi 
dently  regarded  Scott,  like  the  old  general,  as  a  bad  sub 
ject  of  the  realm.  The  most  unsuspicious  nature  might 
plainly  see  that  the  bolt  was  forged  and  would  in  due 
time  be  launched." 

The  above  paragraph  shows  that  the  two  fighting-cocks 
were  ready  to  bristle  up  the  moment  they  came  in  sight 
of  one  another. 

The  Florida  War,  which  commenced  in  December, 
1835,  and  ended  towards  the  close  of  1842,  was  an  affair 
that  tried  the  skill  of  generals  and  the  endurance  of  men 
more  severely  than  the  Revolutionary  War.  The  com 
manders,  every  one  of  whom  may  be  said  to  have  failed, 
were,  in  order,  Clinch,  Gaines,  Scott,  Jessup,  Taylor, 
Armistead  and  Worth,  of  the  regular  army,  and,  for  an 
interval,  Governor  Call,  of  Florida.  As  a  rule,  each  in 
succession,  on  assuming  the  command,  let  fly  a  poisoned 
arrow  at  his  predecessor.  Scott  refers  to  the  one  before 
him  in  the  following  terms :  "  Clinch  liberated  the  be 
leaguered  Gaines,"  and  after  stating  that  the  latter  had 
made  a  treaty  with  the  Indians,  which  allowed  them  to 
remain  in  the  country  under  certain  specified  conditions, 
he  adds  :  "  This  the  superannuated  general  preposterously 
called  dictating  a  peace  to  the  Indians,  and  went  off 
swiftly  to  New  Orleans." 

From  Florida  Scott  was  ordered  to  the  Creek  country 
to  compel  the  Indians  to  move  west  of  the  Mississippi. 
General  Jessup,  being  there  in  advance,  disapproved  the 
delay  proposed  by  Scott  for  co-operation,  and  in  a  pique 


Scott  and  Jackson.  119 

he  wrote  his  famous  letter  to  Francis  P.  Blair,  editor  of 
the  Globe,  "  denouncing,"  as  the  autobiographer  says, 
"  Scott's  dilatoriness  against  the  Creeks,  and  likening  it 
to  his  want  of  energy  in  the  Florida  War." 

The  letter  contained  a  request  to  Blair  to  show  it  to 
the  President,  which  was  done  accordingly.  General 
Jackson  insisted  on  retaining  the  letter,  which  he  en 
dorsed,  and  ordered  it  placed  on  file  in  the  War  Office. 
The  transaction  elicits  from  the  autobiographer  the  fol 
lowing  commentary : 

"  The  letter  was  laid  before  the  President,  who,  too 
happy  that  the  moment  had  at  length  arrived  to  launch 
the  bolt  so  long  held  in  readiness,  ordered,  1st — Jessup 
be  placed  in  command,  and  Scott  before  a  court.  But  before 
meeting  the  Thunderer  full  face  to  face,  it  will  be  best  to 
follow  up  the  interminable  Florida  War." 

The  remarks  which  follow  are  immaterial  to  this 
history. 

The  candid  mind,  after  a  careful  consideration  of  all 
the  facts  and  circumstances  attending  the  origin  of  the 
tripartite  conflict,  will  conclude  that  Jessup  was  censur 
able  for  having  criticised  his  commanding  officer  in  a 
private  letter  to  Mr.  Blair,  which  he  designed  for  the 
President,  and  that  the  latter  was  hasty  and  tyrannical  in 
ordering  General  Scott  before  a  military  court  upon  the 
indefinite  accusation  of  a  subordinate. 

The  next  step  taken  by  President  Jackson  had  no 
appearance  of  tyranny  or  unfairness.  The  members  of 
the  Court  of  Inquiry  were  Generals  Macomb,  Atkinson 
and  Brady.  Macomb  was  a  gentleman  incapable  of 
malice  and  without  prejudice  against  the  accused,  while 
Atkinson  and  Brady  were  the  friends  and  special  favor- 
ties  of  General  Scott.  Arraigned  before  such  a  tribunal 
upon  charges  which  had  no  real  foundation,  his  honorable 


I2O  Fifty   Years    Observation. 

acquittal  was  the  necessary  result.  The  trial  enhanced 
the  reputation  of  Scott  before  the  general  public,  al 
though  his  speech  in  defence  was  a  subject  of  merriment 
with  many  persons.  Its  opening  words,  as  given  by  the 
autobiographer,  differ  essentially  from  those  that  lodged 
in  my  memory  from  having  heard  them  often  repeated 
during  several  years  after  the  trial.  I  recall  those  open 
ing  words,  as  follows : 

"  When,  for  some  imaginary  offence,  the  Doge  of  Genoa 
was  torn  from  his  government  by  Louis  XIV.  and  ordered 
to  appear  before  him  at  Versailles,  he  was  asked  by  that 
haughty  monarch  :  'What  amidst  the  splendors  that  sur 
rounded  him  surprised  him  the  most  ? '  *  To  find  myself 
here/  replied  the  intrepid  Lascaro." 

Several  years  later,  Surgeon  Henderson,  when  arraigned 
before  a  court  martial  on  charges  which  he  was  unable  to 
recognize,  began  his  defence  by  saying :  "  Gentlemen,  I 
don't  think  that  the  Doge  of  Genoa  and  General  Scott 
both  together  were  as  much  surprised  to  find  themselves 
where  they  were  as  I  am  to  find  myself  before  this  court 
martial." 

In  the  month  of  January,  1843,  General  Scott  wrote, 
and  published  in  the  National  Intelligencer,  a  review  of 
certain  essays  by  a  Kentuckian  upon  the  subject  of 
Martial  Law.  The  essays  and  the  review  had  for  their 
special  purpose  the  condemnation  of  the  declaration  of 
martial  law  at  New  Orleans  in  1815,  by  General  Jackson. 
Scott's  article  was  the  result  of  extensive  research  and  a 
true  labor  of  love,  in  which  the  hero  of  New  Orleans  fared 
badly.  The  name  of  that  terrible  man  appears  to  have 
exercised  an  irresistible  fascination  upon  our  autobiog 
rapher  ;  he  hovers  around  it  continually — but  the  time 
was  at  hand  when  the  fire  at  the  Hermitage  was  to  go  out, 
and  on  the  8th  of  January,  1845,  that  human  volcano  be- 


Jackson's  Death.  121 

came  extinct.  The  news  of  the  event  arrived  at  West 
Point  at  the  moment  a  class  was  under  examination  be 
fore  a  board  of  visitors,  of  which  General  Scott  was  the 
president.  Upon  its  announcement  the  general  arose,  and 
spoke  as  follows: 

44  Major  Delafield,  superintendent,  I  suspend  the  fur 
ther  labors  of  the  examination  till  to-morrow  in  honor 
of  an  event  interesting  to  all  Americans.  A  great 
man  has  fallen  among  us.  Andrew  Jackson,  after 
filling  the  world  with  his  fame,  and  covering  his 
country  with  glory,  departed  this  life  on  the  8th  instant. 
It  is  not  for  any  authority  inferior  to  the  President  to 
prescribe  the  special  honors  to  be  paid  to  the  illustrious 
dead  by  the  military  posts  and  troops  of  the  United 
States.  No  doubt  orders  on  the  subject  will  soon  arrive 
from  Washington." 

Our  autobiographer  having  advanced  his  chronology  to 
bury  his  old  oppressor,  returns  to  notice  the  administra 
tion  of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  which  commenced  March  4,  1837. 
The  acquaintance  of  the  two  gentlemen  began  when 
they  were  both  young  men  and  soon  ripened  into 
friendship.  Scott  says  in  his  book:  "  He  believes  he  was 
the  first  to  suggest  that,  with  his  advantageous  stand 
point,  it  would  be  easy  for  the  rising  New  Yorker  to 
make  himself  President  of  the  United  States."  In  his 
conversations  with  me,  the  general  many  times  asserted 
that  he  was  the  first  to  awaken  hope  in  Mr.  Van 
Buren  to  be  President,  and  that  he  told  him  the  only 
possible  means  to  attain  his  object  was  to  court  the 
South. 

Mr.  Van  Buren   displayed  entire  confidence  in  Scott's 
ability,  and  when   the  troubles  at  the  North  threatened 
war  with  England,  he  was  given  unlimited  authority  to 
act  as  pacificator. 
6 


122  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

Those  troubles  at  the  North  grew  out  of  the  politi 
cal  agitations  in  Canada  in  the  year  1837.  A  strong 
party  of  radicals  opposed  to  monarchical  government 
sought  the  independence  of  that  country,  and  found 
many  sympathizers  on  our  side  of  the  line.  Two-hun 
dred  thousand  men  along  our  border,  from  Maine  to 
Michigan,  bound  themselves  by  secret  oaths  to  assist 
the  Canadian  patriots.  The  first  armed  body  from  our 
side  collected  at  Navy  Island,  above  the  Niagara  Falls, 
under  the  command  of  a  Colonel  Van  Rensellaer.  They 
engaged  a  small  steamer  called  "  The  Caroline,'*  to  ply 
as  a  ferry-boat  between  the  island  and  Schlosser,  where 
the  boat  was  made  fast  to  the  wharf  on  the  evening  of 
December  29.  During  the  night  an  armed  party  stole 
across  from  the  Canadian  shore,  seized  "  The  Caroline," 
killed  one  man  at  least,  and  wounded  several  others,  set 
fire  to  the  vessel,  and  cut  her  adrift  over  the  falls.  The 
dead  body  was  carried  up  to  Buffalo,  and  around  it  the 
people  of  the  city  and  neighboring  country  gathered 
with  frenzied  haste  to  cry  for  war  and  vengeance. 

The  whole  frontier  was  in  a  blaze,  but,  strange  as  it 
may  appear  at  this  day,  the  news  of  the  outrage  did  not 
reach  Washington  till  the  4th  of  January.  It  came  to 
the  executive  mansion  while  a  large  party,  including  Mr. 
Clay  and  General  Scott,  were  assembling  there  for  a  state 
dinner.  The  President  entered  the  room  after  all  his 
guests  had  arrived,  saluted  them  with  the  same  com 
posure  of  manner  which  was  usual  with  him,  and  then  he 
whispered  in  the  ear  of  General  Scott :  "  Blood  has  been 
shed !  You  must  go  with  all  speed  to  the  Canadian 
frontier.  The  Secretary  of  War  (Poinsett)  is  engaged  in 
writing  you  instructions."  General  Scott  started  for 
Buffalo  early  the  next  morning,  and  arrived  late  on  the 
7th  of  January.  He  was  without  a  staff  officer,  as  he  had 


Scott  at  Biiffalo.  123 

left  me  to  collect  certain  documents  and  books  from  the 
office  in  Elizabeth,  and  with  orders  to  follow  him  with 
out  delay.  I  lost  no  time,  and  reached  Buffalo  twenty- 
four  hours  after  him,  having  for  companions  from  Albany 
Generals  Wool  and  Worth. 

The  commotion  at  Buffalo  was  like  that  of  actual  war. 
Our  people  would  regard  nothing  but  the  invasion  of 
their  soil  and  the  murder  of  an  innocent  citizen,  while 
the  British  authorities  were  equally  incensed  at  the  hos 
tile  intrusion  of  lawless  men  from  the  States  upon  their 
domain  and  jurisdiction.  Fortunately  Scott  was  recog 
nized  by  many  men  who  remembered  his  gallant  bear 
ing  in  the  same  neighborhood  during  the  last  war  with 
England.  With  them  he  conversed  singly,  and  he  made 
speeches  to  the  crowds  in  the  streets  and  hotels  at  the 
same  time  he  communicated  his  pacific  intentions  to  the 
authorities  in  Canada.  In  that  way  he  calmed  the 
angry  passions  of  all  parties,  and  prevented  an  actual 
collision  of  arms.  His  personal  presence  for  over  four 
weeks  was  restricted  to  the  frontiers  from  Buffalo  to 
the  falls.  During  the  same  time,  several  regiments  and 
New  York  militia,  in  addition  to  a  small  body  of  regu 
lars,  were  enrolled,  and  an  incessant  correspondence 
with  officers  at  a  distance,  with  citizens  and  applicants 
for  service,  and  with  the  War  Department,  was  sus 
tained.  The  general  took  no  time  for  rest  except  about 
six  hours  in  twenty-four  for  sleep,  and,  as  I  was  his 
only  staff  officer,  he  kept  me  at  work  sixteen  hours 
every  day,  allowing  short  intervals  for  meals,  and  giving 
me  time,  as  he  would  kindly  say,  to  drink  two  or  three 
glasses  of  sherry  at  dinner.  He  took  one  advantage  of 
me,  for  he  would  mix  a  glass  of  toddy  before  going  to 
bed,  for  which  I  would  sometimes  avenge  myself,  when  I 


124  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

felt  weary,  by  pouring  out  one  or  two  extra  glasses  of 
sherry  at  dinner. 

The  general's  successful  efforts  at  Buffalo  put  him  in  a 
good  humor,  and  we  left  to  move  along  the  frontier.  He 
refers  in  his  book  to  his  travels  by  night  and  to  the  cold. 
It  was  always  his  custom  to  start  in  an  extra  coach  after 
dark,  and  keep  on  till  the  end  of  his  journey.  Our  prog 
ress  was  often  very  slow,  but  he  could  easily  sleep  while 
jolted  on  the  road,  more  easily  than  I  could,  although  he 
thought  otherwise.  I  am  certain  that  I  was  often  awake  at 
early  dawn  and  indulged  my  curiosity  by  watching  him  and 
his  black  servant  David  while  they  slept.  He  had  the 
look  of  a  tawny  old  lion  slumbering  quietly,  but  David's 
black  visage  would  twitch  as  if  he  was  uneasy.  David 
was  like  a  branch  that  had  been  wrenched  from  a  tropi 
cal  tree  and  carried  up  to  the  frozen  zone — he  was  out 
of  place.  On  one  of  those  winter  journeys  the  general 
showed  me  a  mark  of  approval  which  I  have  never  for- 
gotten.  It  was  early  in  the  morning,  after  we  had  been 
three  successive  nights  in  a  stage-coach,  as  we  were 
moving  slowly  through  the  deep  snow,  that  I  saw  him  re 
gard  me  with  compassion.  My  face  was  probably  sor 
rowful  to  behold  at  that  moment,  for  the  general  took 
out  from  his  pocket  a  handful  of  parched  corn  and 
dropped  five  or  six  grains  into  my  hand,  one  after  an 
other,  keeping  his  eye  fixed  on  mine  with  an  expression 
of  affection  like  that  of  a  mother  watching  her  suffering 
child.  There  was  no  feigning  in  that  gaze,  and  its  be 
nignity  has  remained  fixed  on  my  memory  always. 

After  visiting  the  Northern  frontiers  of  Vermont,  where 
the  excitement  had  ceased  to  be  alarming,  the  general 
concluded,  about  the  middle  of  February,  to  return  to 
New  York.  On  arriving  in  that  city  we  parted,  he  to  go 
to  the  Astor  House  and  I  to  my  own  home,  which  was  in 


Mr.  James  Monroe.  125 

Brooklyn.  At  the  hotel  he  found  letters  from  Mr.  Poin- 
sett,  to  inform  him  that  news  of  a  fresh  outbreak  on  the 
Niagara  frontier  had  come  down  from  Buffalo,  and  direct 
ing  him  to  return  there  immediately.  The  general  forth 
with  despatched  a  note  to  me  to  rejoin  him  at  once,  as  he 
intended  to  start  for  the  North  at  9  o'clock  that  same 
night.  Fortunately  for  me  the  ice  on  the  East  River 
had  closed  in,  and  the  passage  of  the  messenger  was  inter 
cepted,  and  our  departure  was  thus  delayed  till  7  o'clock 
P.  M.  of  the  following  day. 

Mr.  James  Monroe,  an  old  aide  de  camp,  and  one  of  the 
general's  stanchest  friends,  was  boarding  at  the  Astor 
House  with  his  family.  We  all  sat  together  at  a  side 
table  for  dinner,  and  Mr.  Charles  King  was  with  us.  My 
chief  at  that  time  was  troubled  with  gravel  in  the  kid 
neys,  and  could  take  no  stimulating  beverage  except 
Manzanillo  sherry  and  Holland  gin.  Mr.  Monroe  had  a 
full  cellar  and  he  placed  upon  the  table  a  bottle  of  his 
best  Manzanillo,  which  the  general  tasted  and  rejected 
with  violence.  He  declared  it  to  be  Madeira,  and  that  it 
was  poison  to  him.  Mr.  Monroe  was  complaisant,  and 
brought  up  other  bottles  to  the  number  of  six  or  eight ; 
all  were  cast  aside  like  the  first.  Scott  declared  that  a 
single  glass  from  any  one  of  those  bottles  would  kill  him 
before  morning,  and  so  he  was  content  with  a  glass  of  gin 
and  water. 

At  precisely  7  o'clock  P.  M.  we  took  leave  of  our 
delightful  company  to  arrange  ourselves  in  the  big 
covered  four-horse  sleigh,  that  stood  at  the  Astor  House 
front  door,  full  of  straw.  David  was  stowed  with  us,  and 
when  all  were  in  place  the  driver  cracked  his  whip,  and 
we  trotted  away  in  the  direction  of  the  North  Pole. 
The  road  was  well  beaten  the  first  thirty  miles,  and  then 
the  snow  slackened  our  pace,  so  that  it  was  2  o'clock  in 


126  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

the  morning  when  we  arrived  at  a  tavern  opposite  West 
Point,  where  we  were  to  change  horses.  Being  in  an 
extra  coach  we  were  detained  half  an  hour  to  harness  a 
fresh  team,  and  we  all  got  out  of  the  sleigh  and  went  into 
the  tavern,  where  a  bright  wood  fire  was  burning.  While 
waiting  I  overheard  a  conversation  between  the  landlord 
and  a  man  who  came  in,  which  attracted  my  attention. 
"  Have  you  been  in  Mr.  M.'s  room  ?  "  "  Yes,"  said  the 
man.  "Is  he  quiet?"  "  He's  asleep,  sir."  The  name 
was  that  of  a  young  gentleman  whom  I  had  missed  from 
New  York  a  considerable  time,  but  its  initial  was  not  M. 
He  was  insane,  and  in  the  keeping  of  our  landlord,  who 
with  his  assistant  watched  him  day  and  night. 

The  young  alient  referred  to  belonged  to  one  of  the 
old  families  of  New  York,  and  a  little  more  than  three 
years  before  had,  on  arriving  at  his  majority,  been  placed 
in  possession  of  $300,000,  which  at  that  time  was  the 
equivalent  of  a  million  now.  To  celebrate  the  event  he 
gave  a  dinner  at  Delmonico's,  to  which  I  was  invited,  not 
because  I  was  intimate  with  M.,  for  I  only  knew  him 
slightly,  but  because  we  had  a  common  intimate  friend, 
whom  I  will  call  X.,  and  who  was  the  active  man  or 
adjutant  of  M.  in  the  arrangements  of  the  feast,  which 
was  in  Delmonico's  grandest  style. 

The  company  numbered  eighteen,  of  which  only  two 
were  over  thirty  years  of  age.  Of  all  the  others,  sixteen 
of  us,  not  one  had  seen  his  twenty-fifth  birth-day.  As  I 
glanced  up  and  down  the  table,  I  fancied  I  had  never 
seen  an  equal  number  of  handsome,  manly,  young  men, 
in  a  single  group.  There  was  not  a  feeble  countenance 
among  them ;  joy  sparkled  in  every  eye,  and  gladness 
was  in  the  tone  of  every  voice.  No  histories  were  related 
but  the  histories  of  the  day  and  passing  events,  but  there 
was  boasting  enough  of  personal  exploits  and  of  the  vari- 


Homily  on  the  Dinner.  127 

ous  devices  they  were  beginning  to  practise  to  waste  their 
youth  and  redundant  strength,  and  to  let  go  by  unem 
ployed  the  splendid  opportunities  they  had  inherited. 
The  evening  wore  on ;  the  consumption  of  food  and 
the  spilth  of  wine  were  enormous.  At  about  9  o'clock, 

M had  filled  himself  over-full,  shrunk  down  in  his 

arm-chair,  and  was  fast  asleep;  some  were  noisy,  and 
others  were  dull  and  drooping  in  lips  and  eyelids.  The 
coffee  had  been  served,  and  they  were  beginning  to  call 
for  whiskey,  punch,  rum,  and  gin,  and  such  like  infernal 
fluids,  and  the  room  was  already  full  of  the  smoke  of 
tobacco.  As  the  hour  of  ten  approached,  I  started  to 
glide  away,  as  was  always  my  custom  on  such  occasions, 

without  leave-taking.     X saw  me  move,  and  sprang 

to  intercept  me,  declaring  that  I  should  not  go,  but  when 
I  said,  in  a  serious  voice,  that  I  had  been  charged  by  my 
chief  to  prepare  despatches  of  vast  importance  for  the 
early  morning's  mail,  I  was  permitted  to  depart. 

The  facts  of  that  dinner  are  like  a  homily,  and  the  his 
tory  of  its  assistants  as  startling  as  a  sermon  of  Massillon. 
They  were  nearly  all  young  men  of  fortune,  and  as  well 
equipped  as  I  for  length  of  days,  devoted  to  fashionable 
popularity,  heaping  upon  the  mad  sports  of  the  day  those 
wild  orgies  of  the  night  that  sow  cramps  in  the  muscles 
and  aches  in  the  bones,  permitting  General  Alcohol  to 
establish  posts  and  places  of  arms  in  their  vitals,  to  draw 
off  the  balm  of  hope  from  their  hearts  and  inject  them 
full  of  gall ;  to  pinch  up  the  avenues  of  sleep  in  the  brain, 
and  drive  them  with  vertiginous  rapidity  to  early  deaths, 
which  nearly  every  one  of  them  found.  How  many  halted 
at  the  mad-house  in  their  speedy  transit  I  am  not  in 
formed  ;  but  it  is  certain  that,  fifteen  years  ago,  my  hand 
some  friend  Ch and  I  were  all  that  remained. 


128  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

During  these  patriotic  troubles,  large  bodies  of  British 
troops  were  sent  over,  and  at  one  time  there  were 
present  in  Canada  as  many  as  twenty  thousand.  Among 
them  were  several  regiments  of  Household  troops,  in 
cluding  that  of  which  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  the 
titular  colonel,  and  also  the  93d  Highlanders.  When 
ever  there  was  a  lull  in  the  excitement,  the  English 
officers  would  come  over  to  visit  those  of  our  army, 
with  whom  they  fraternized.  They  were  a  vigorous 
set  of  young  men,  all  accustomed  to  high  life  and  to 
an  elegant  society  in  which  effeminacy  was  not  pop 
ular.  No  man  in  our  army  pleased  them  more  than 
Prince  John  Magruder,  who  was  then  in  his  prime. 
Prince  John's  endurance  lasted  many  years.  In  the  early 
days  of  California,  I  invited  him  to  dine  with  me  at  the 
Presidio  of  San  Francisco.  At  10  o'clock,  I  left  the  table 
and  went  to  bed  as  usual.  The  next  morning  at  8  o'clock, 
when  I  came  in  to  breakfast,  I  found  the  Prince  and  Lieu 
tenant  L sitting  at  the  table.  "  Prince,"  said  I,  "you 

and  L are  early  this  morning." — "  I  don't  know 

whether  we  are  early  or  late,"  said  he  ;  "  we  haven't  left 
the  dinner-table  yet."  L was  the  most  taciturn  indi 
vidual  of  our  mess,  and  I  suspect  he  had  been  asleep  at 
least  seven  out  of  the  fourteen  hours  they  had  remained 
at  the  table,  but  the  Prince  kept  on  talking. 

Among  the  English  officers  who  visited  us  toward  the 

last  was  Lieutenant  R ,  of  Wellington's  regiment. 

He  was  as  elegant  and  beautiful  a  youth  as  could  be 
found  in  the  two  hemispheres,  and  from  him  I  learned 
that  grumbling  is  not  confined  to  officers  of  the  American 
army.  One  day  he  entertained  me  an  hour  abusing  his 
colonel.  His  discourse  in  form  and  substance  was  about 
as  follows : 

"  The  Duke  is  a  selfish  old  man,  you  know.     He'd  send 


Scott  Returns  to  Washington.  129 

his  regiment  to  the  devil  if  he  could  be  comfortable  him 
self.  There's  no  use  our  being  over  here,  but  here  we've 
been  nearly  a  whole  year.  Last  winter  I  was  stationed 
at  Quebec,  and  that  is  the  vilest  place  in  the  world.  I'd 
like  to  have  the  old  fellow  over  there  and  make  him  go 
the  rounds  at  midnight  in  January — that  would  bring 
him  to  his  senses.  The  Duke's  in  his  dotage,  you  know, 
but  he  holds  on,  and  he  will  hold  on  till  death.  He  had 
the  regiment  out  at  the  coronation,  and  he  commanded 
the  whole  column,  but  he  scarcely  looked  at  us.  The  old 
fellow's  neck  was  so  weak  that  he  couldn't  hold  his  head 
up,  so  he  wore  a  tall  stiff  leather  stock  to  rest  his  chin  on. 
He  looked  like  an  old  mummy  dressed  up.  The  Queen 
appeared  angry  with  him,  and  sent  for  him  to  come  to  her 
carriage.  He  waited  a  while,  and  then  went  up  sulking. 
When  her  Majesty  spoke  to  him  he  did  not  look  towards 
her.  He's  no  manners,  you  know,"  and  much  more  in 
the  same  strain. 

As  soon  as  the  ice  broke  up  on  the  rivers  the  Canadian 
Patriots  ceased  operations,  and  in  the  month  of  April, 
1838,  Scott  was  called  to  Washington  to  receive  instruc 
tions  concerning  the  removal  of  the  Cherokee  Indians  to 
the  west  of  the  Mississippi  River.  Mr.  Van  Buren  mani 
fested  his  approval  of  General  Scott's  recent  services  at 
the  North  by  many  polite  attentions,  and  by  signing  his 
instructions  with  his  own  hand,  the  Secretary  of  War, 
Poinsett,  being  dangerously  ill.  While  waiting  a  few 
days  for  those  instructions  General  Macomb  gave  a  large 
dinner-party  to  my  chief,  at  which  I  was  present.  Directly 
after  dinner  the  two  generals,  Mr.  Forsyth  and  another 
gentleman — I  think  it  was  Senator  Preston — retired  to  a 
small  room  for  a  game  of  whist,  and  I  sat  by  to  look  on. 
One  game  had  been  played  and  another  was  in  progress, 
when  a  messenger  came  hurriedly  into  the  room  and  ex- 


130  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

claimed :  "  General  Macomb,  I  am  sent  to  tell  you  that 
Mr.  Poinsett  is  dying  ;  the  death-rattle  is  in  his  throat !" 

Mr.  Forsyth  had  drawn  out  a  card  and  held  it  in  his 
hand  while  the  messenger  was  speaking.  The  four  great 
men  exchanged  glances  in  silence  and  looked  serious  for 
a  few  seconds,  and  then  Mr.  Forsyth  played  and  the 
game  went  on.  It  happened,  however,  that  Mr.  Poinsett 
recovered,  notwithstanding  his  breathing  was  mistaken 
for  the  rdle  of  death.  After  his  restoration  he  explained 
the  matter  by  saying  that  the  phlegm  in  his  throat  caused 
the  ominous  rattle  ;  and  feeling  from  his  excessive  weak- 
ness  that  the  effort  to  cough  would  kill  him,  he  waited  to 
recover  a  little  more  strength,  and  in  that  way  he  saved 
his  life. 

Mr.  Poinsett  was  a  polished  gentleman  of  uncommon 
intelligence,  and  his  genial  disposition  made  him  many 
friends  in  all  parts  of  the  Union.  He  was  a  South  Caro 
linian,  but  during  the  nullification  troubles  he  took  a  firm 
stand  in  opposition  at  Charleston  and  bravely  supported 
the  Federal  Constitution  and  laws. 

On  our  passage  through  South  Carolina  and  Georgia 
the  general  was  received  and  entertained  with  that  frank 
hospitality,  which  appeared  somewhat  peculiar  when  con 
trasted  with  the  formal  entertainments  of  the  North. 
The  Southerners  seemed  bound  together  by  stronger 
social  ties,  and  they  possessed  a  certain  ease  and  grace  of 
manner  which  was  enhanced  by  their  natural  eloquence. 
They  were  more  clearly  self-appreciating  and  more 
chivalrous  in  their  ideas  than  the  denizens  of  large  cities 
at  the  North.  The  vast  majority  of  South  Carolinians 
regarded  that  arch-sophist,  John  C.  Calhoun,  as  a  prophet 
and  leader  more  infallible  than  Moses.  He  possessed  an 
astute  intellect,  and  his  teachings  were  enforced  by  a 
purity  of  life  which  was  partly  due  to  his  natural  repug- 


The  Cherokee  Indians.  131 

nance  to  every  kind  of  dissipation  and  excess.  Such 
men  are  often  dangerous,  and  he  was  able  to  tangle  the 
ideas  of  his  neighbors  into  a  knot  that  had  finally  to  be 
cut  with  the  sword  of  the  civil  war. 

As  we  approached  that  portion  of  the  Cherokee  coun 
try  lying  near  Georgia  the  complaints  of  the  settlers 
against  the  Indians  increased.  They  coveted  the  fair 
land  of  the  aborigines,  and  put  forward  a  thousand  pre 
texts  to  justify  their  expulsion.  Scott  was  there  with 
orders  to  send  them  away,  and  in  the  execution  of  his 
task  he  was  animated  by  a  merciful  spirit,  and  he  dis 
played  a  wonderful  discretion.  He  always  spoke  kindly 
to  the  Indians,  to  whom  he  explained  his  instructions, 
and  when  he  arrived  at  Calhoun,  in  the  southeastern 
corner  of  Tennessee,  he  assembled  a  body  of  fifty 
or  sixty  chiefs  and  head  men,  to  whom  he  read  his 
orders  and  made  an  address.  The  council  lasted  over 
two  hours,  and  gave  me  time  to  note  the  conduct  of  those 
red  men  while  they  listened  to  the  mandates  of  banish 
ment.  They  were  a  solid  set  of  men  to  look  upon,  and 
the  repose  and  dignity  of  their  appearance  could  not 
have  been  excelled  by  an  equal  number  of  our  race.  The 
chiefs  said  little,  but  the  air  of  resignation  and  sadness 
which  pervaded  the  assemblage  impressed  us  more  forci 
bly  than  words. 

The  lands  of  the  Cherokees  embraced  the  contiguous 
corners  of  the  States  of  Georgia,  Alabama,  Tennessee, 
and  North  Carolina.  The  general,  attended  by  his  per 
sonal  staff  and  a  small  escort  of  soldiers,  visited  the  vari 
ous  settlements  to  supervise  the  removal  and  to  see  that 
the  rights  of  the  Indians  were  protected.  The  most  in 
teresting  excursion  we  made  was  during  the  last  days  of 
May  and  the  first  days  of  June,  to  Fort  Butler,  in  North 
Carolina.  There  we  were  entertained  by  the  gentleman 


*32  Fifty  Year?  Observation. 

from  whom  the  fort  was  named,  and  from  him  we  derived 
much  useful  information.  Mr.  Butler's  daughter  had  re 
cently  married  Surgeon  C.  M.  Hitchcock  of  the  army, 
and  the  newly  married  couple  were  in  our  company,  Dr. 
Hitchcock  being  attached  to  our  staff.  The  lady  enliv 
ened  us  with  her  wit  and  surprised  us  by  the  grace  with 
which  she  sat  and  the  skill  with  which  she  managed  her 
spirited  horse.  The  weather  was  superb,  all  the  buds  of 
spring  were  expanding,  and  the  landscape  was  variegated 
with  hills  and  valleys  and  running  streams.  In  many 
places  the  sun  warmed  a  fertile  soil  which  returned  for 
little  culture  an  abundant  harvest  of  grains  and  fruits 
and  herbage  for  man  and  beast.  Comfortable  houses 
and  gardens  were  frequently  in  view,  and  many  domes 
tic  animals  were  browsing  in  sight.  The  trees  were 
festooned  with  vines,  and  the  hillsides  and  portions  of 
the  plains  were  enmeshed  in  floral  beauty.  It  was  a 
scene  of  enchantment,  in  which  God's  bounty  to  man 
was  everywhere  apparent. 

The  natives  of  that  fair  domain  were  attached  to 
their  homes,  and  their  ancestors  had  possessed  it  long 
before  the  pale  face  of  the  European  had  been  seen  on 
the  Western  Continent.  The  disposition  of  the  Chero- 
kees  was  in  accord  with  the  outward  shows  I  have  de 
scribed,  and  was  more  romantic  than  in  any  other  sav 
ages  I  have  known.  The  voices  of  the  maidens  were 
musical,  and  the  names  of  their  rivers,  mountains  and 
abodes  had  the  charm  of  poetical  numbers. 

At  the  end  of  our  last  long  day's  ride,  I  had  my 
couch  placed  in  a  tent  that  stood  near  the  bank  of 
the  Hiwassee,  and  there,  for  a  while,  I  resigned  myself  to 
such  reflections  and  reverie  as  my  surroundings  sug 
gested.  The  night  was  calm  and  warm,  and  the  sounds 
that  saluted  my  ears  were  such  as  are  made  by  the  in- 


In  the  Lands  of  the  Cherokees.  133 

numerable  insects  that  spread  their  wings,  or  hinge  their 
shards  in  darkness.  With  them  were  mingled  the  rip 
pling  of  soft  waters,  and  those  lulling  murmurs  or  chaf- 
ings  of  the  elements,  for  which  philologers  have  found 
no  name,  and  which  we  detect  so  often  in  the  warm 
climates,  and  especially  within  the  tropics,  where  alone 
the  sweetest  harmonies  of  nature  may  be  heard. 

The  benign  influences  to  which  I  was  subject  inclined 
me  to  compassion.  I  revolved  in  my  mind  the  enterprise 
in  progress,  which  was  to  uproot  and  transport  to  a  dis 
tant  and  wholly  dissimilar  territory  an  entire  community 
of  human  beings  whose  sensibilities  in  many  respects 
were  more  acute  than  my  own.  They  cling  around  the 
graves  of  their  progenitors  with  a  superstitious  fondness. 
They  regarded  the  clear  fountains  and  beautiful  streams 
on  whose  banks  they  had  sported  in  childhood  as  objects 
of  adoration,  and  the  echoes  of  their  mountains  and  dells 
were  as  grateful  to  them  as  angels'  voices. 

They  never  showed  their  grief  in  noisy  demonstrations, 
nor  by  tears,  but  it  could  be  seen  with  chilling  effect  in 
the  lines  of  sadness  which  despair  had  engraven  on  the 
faces  of  nearly  all  of  them.  For  a  moment  I  regarded 
myself  as  a  trespasser,  as  one  of  a  gang  of  robbers,  and 
in  my  effort  to  justify  my  position  the  spectre  of  Avarice 
arose  upon  my  imagination.  His  ministers  have  been 
the  principal  actors  in  all  our  Indian  dramas,  and  the 
thought  of  the  endless  jargon  by  which  they  seek  to  jus 
tify  their  plundering  outrages  oppressed  me,  and  I  found 
relief  in  slumber. 

The  warm  weather  and  the  healthy  mountain  air  of  the 
country  had  relieved  him  of  his  renal  pains,  and  the  gen 
eral  was  in  excellent  spirits.  Now  and  then  he  would 
allow  himself  to  be  vexed,  and  on  one  occasion,  as  I 
thought,  without  sufficient  cause.  A  captain  of  artillery, 


134  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

on  duty  with  us,  who  was  of  New  England  birth  and 
character,  an  accomplished  officer  and  a  good  man,  ap 
plied  for  a  leave  of  absence  to  visit  his  wife,  who  was  dan 
gerously  ill  at  the  North.  The  general  refused  the  leave, 
and  wrote  a  letter  to  the  applicant  which  appeared  to  me 
wantonly  unjust  and  insulting.  The  officer  in  question 
had  commented,  like  many  others,  upon  the  cruelty  of  the 
Government  towards  the  Cherokees,  and  which  it  is  possi 
ble  he  imputed  to  Southern  politicians  and  land-grabbers. 
A  reflection  upon  his  native  section,  of  any  sort,  would 
invariably  irritate  my  chief,  and  in  this  instance  he  re 
garded  it  as  an  intolerable  assumption  of  superior  moral 
ity  on  the  part  of  a  New  England  man,  and  hence  his 
severity. 

He  handed  me  the  letter  with  instructions  to  have  it 
copied  and  despatched  immediately,  but  I  contrived  to 
leave  it  among  unfinished  business  till  I  returned  from  an 
afternoon's  ride.  We  went  out  as  usual  alone,  and  in 
stead  of  talking  of  my  own  horse,  Narses,  as  I  often  did,' 
I  admired  his  and  his  riding.  I  told  him  he  reminded 
me  of  an  equestrian  likeness  of  Charles  XII.  of  Sweden, 
which  I  had  once  seen,  and  that  I  did  not  believe  that 
hardy  king  could  have  ridden  longer  without  tiring.  My 
chief  being  content  with  himself  and  me,  I  said,  "  Gen 
eral,  don't  you  think  the  letter  you  wrote  to  Captain 

was  rather  severe  ?  "  "  You  think  so,  do  you  ?  "  was  the 
abrupt  reply  he  made,  and  we  rode  along  in  silence  with 
out  another  word.  After  getting  in  he  called  me  and 
inquired  if  the  letter  had  gone.  I  answered  in  the 
negative  and  gave  it  back  to  him.  He  read  the  letter 
over  carefully,  tore  it  into  small  pieces,  and  wrote  an 
other  which  was  vastly  less  severe  than  the  first,  although 
he  still  refused  the  leave  of  absence.  I  never  related  this 
transaction  to  the  officer,  nor  to  any  member  of  his 


Worth  and  Floyd.  135 

family,  but  I  took  the  captain's  part,  because  I  thought 
it  wrong  that  he  should  be  lashed  for  having  the  habi 
tudes  of  his  birthplace. 

The  autobiographer,  in  concluding  his  notice  of  the  re 
moval  of  the  Cherokee  Indians,  gives  the  names  of  twelve 
officers  "  who  well  supported  him  in  the  labor  of  necessity 
executed,  it  is  felt,  in  mercy."  My  name  is  found  among 
the  twelve,  but  certain  other  names  are  omitted  of  officers 
who  were  active  in  the  same  service.  At  the  head  of  the 
omitted  names  I  should  place  those  of  Worth  and  Floyd. 
Of  Worth,  who  was  our  chief  of  staff,  I  shall  speak  more 
at  length  further  on.  General  Floyd  commanded  the 
Georgia  Volunteers  on  duty  with  us.  He  was  a  charac 
teristic  type  of  Southern  chivalry,  at  all  times  quick  to 
resent  insults,  and  ready  to  defend  his  rights.  I  found 
him  in  social  intercourse  one  of  the  most  amiable  of  men* 
I  often  rode  out  with  him  while  we  remained  at  New 
Echota,  and  it  was  pleasant  to  see  his  horsemanship,  his 
erect  carriage,  and  beautiful  sabre.  It  was  said  he 
possessed  an  armory  of  weapons  of  various  patterns  and 
strange  device,  at  his  plantation  in  the  low  country.  At 
the  time  I  left  my  chief  in  July  to  go  North,  he  and  Gen 
eral  Floyd  appeared  in  perfect  harmony,  but  something 
must  have  occurred  afterwards  to  interrupt  it.  The  roll 
of  honor  in  the  closing  paragraph  of  the  first  volume  of 
the  autobiography,  and  its  omission  of  the  names  of 
Worth  and  Floyd,  produced  in  me  a  feeling  of  sincere 
regret.  When  I  read  it  I  felt  a  desire  to  close  the  book 
to  go  and  visit  the  graves  of  those  two  knightly  soldiers. 

During  my  separation  from  General  Scott  consequent 
to  my  promotion  to  be  Assistant  Adjutant-General  and 
assignment  as  chief  of  staff  to  General  Gaines,  I  con 
tinued  my  correspondence  with  my  former  chief,  who 
urged  me  repeatedly  to  return  to  him  as  aide  de  camp, 


136  Fifty   Years'  Observation. 

and  I  finally  consented  to  do  so.  I  sacrificed  actual 
rank  to  gratify  my  desire  to  enjoy  the  society  of  New 
York  and  Washington,  and  to  be,  for  a  limited  time,  long 
er  with  my  old  commander.  My  last  letter,  which  con 
veyed  my  decision  to  resume  my  position  as  aide  de 
camp,  enabled  me  to  discover,  at  a  later  date,  what 
subtlety  is  burrowed  in  the  human  heart. 

In  a  well-studied  sentence  I  conveyed  the  idea  that 
one  of  the  reasons  for  my  determination  was  to  oblige 
my  General !  I  retained  no  copy  of  that  letter,  and  to 
recall  its  wording  now  that  my  imagination  has  been 
withered  in  a  long  and  varied  experience  of  the  world's 
chicanery,  and  after  my  once  redundant  diction  has  been 
constricted  to  the  narrow  measures  of  utility  and  vulgar 
commerce,  would  be  impossible.  My  meaning  was  en 
veloped  in  a  cloud  of  glozing  words  in  which  I  endeavored 
to  conceal  the  shadowy  image  of  sacrifice  on  my  part  with 
a  view  to  gratify  my  former  benefactor.  I  was  not  cer 
tain  that  he  would  discover  the  microscopic  thread  I  had 
shot  into  the  woof  of  my  epistle,  but  he  did  discover  it,  as 
I  was  informed  several  months  afterwards  by  an  associate 
aide  de  camp.  Lieutenant,  afterwards  Colonel,  Bradford 
R.  Alden  was  my  informant,  and  he  was  a  favorite  asso 
ciate  of  mine  in  the  staff,  and  one  of  the  best  men  I  have 
ever  known.  He  possessed  toward  me  a  friendly  candor 
like  that  of  Melchior  de  la  Bonda,  who  gave  such  good 
counsel  to  Master  Gil  Bias  on  his  entry  into  the  service 
of  the  Archbishop  of  Grenada. 

Conversing  one  day  about  me,  the  general  alluded  to 
my  letter,  which  he  handed  to  Alden  to  read.  He  waved 
the  paper  up  and  down  when  he  passed  it  over,  as  if  to 
catch  an  uncertain  reflection.  "  Examine  that  letter  care 
fully,"  said  he,  "  and  you  will  discover  that  the  young 
gentleman  considers  he  is  making  a  sacrifice  by  joining 


The  Northern  Frontier  Again.  137 

my  staff.  The  letter  clearly  bears  that  interpretation." 
Alden  told  me  the  general  was  offended,  and  he  warned 
me  to  be  on  my  guard.  I  followed  my  friend's 
advice,  and  preserved  the  secret  which  enabled  me 
on  more  than  one  subsequent  occasion  to  under 
stand  the  general's  conduct  towards  me,  which  other 
wise  would  have  been  obscure.  In  a  reasonably  short 
time  his  irritation  subsided,  and  my  indiscretion  was  ap 
parently  forgotten. 

When  I  rejoined  my  old  chief  in  the  winter  of  1838-39 
the  agitations  on  the  Canadian  frontier  had  been  re 
newed,  and  another  excursion  to  the  North,  as  far  as 
Detroit,  was  the  consequence.  That  was  followed  by  a 
journey  to  Augusta,  Maine,  early  in  the  spring  of  1839. 
A  dispute  concerning  the  boundary  line  dividing  the 
State  of  Maine  and  New  Brunswick  had  grown  so  warm 
as  to  threaten  war  with  England.  It  had  no  connection 
with  the  Canadian  patriot  disturbances,  which  had  a 
fanatical  origin,  while  this  affair  at  the  Northeast  re 
ferred  to  the  integrity  of  the  national  territory,  and  ap 
pealed  to  genuine  patriotism.  The  President  and  his 
Cabinet,  as  well  as  Congress,  apprehended  war  with  Great 
Britain,  which  would  only  be  avoided  honorably  by  the 
most  skilful  negotiations.  General  Scott  was  selected  to 
conduct  those  negotiations,  and  given  full  power  and  dis 
cretion.  In  conferring  this  delicate  and  important  trust, 
Mr.  Van  Buren  d^played  in  his  manner  not  only  an  abso 
lute  confidence,  but  also  a  cordial  friendship  which  I  sup 
posed  my  chief  fully  reciprocated.  It  was,  therefore,  with 
the  extremest  surprise  that  I  read  for  the  first  time,  and 
quite  recently,  in  the  book  of  the  autobiographer,  that  his 
friendly  relations  with  Mr.  Van  Buren  had  remained  sus 
pended  until  after  the  election  of  General  Harrison  to  the 
Presidency  in  1840.  That  confession  is,  therefore,  a  dis- 


138  Fifty   Years'  Observation. 

covery  to  me,  and  thus  far  it  is  the  only  one  I  have  found 
in  his  history  of  himself.  The  reconciliation  concurring 
with  Harrison's  election  to  the  Presidency,  an  event 
which  removed  Mr.  Van  Buren  from  the  field  of  compe 
tition,  and  consigned  the  most  philosophic  and  graceful 
of  all  our  chief  magistrates  to  a  life  of  contemplative  re 
tirement,  makes  it  manifest  that  with  Scott  rivalry  was 
the  principal  cause  of  the  previous  discord. 

Never  did  General  Scott  display  more  signal  ability  and 
tact  than  in  his  negotiations  to  settle  the  Northeastern 
boundary.  He,  being  a  Whig,  was  obliged  to  conciliate 
the  Democrats,  then  in  power  in  Maine,  and  the  British 
Lion's  mane  was  bristling  at  the  armed  intrusion  of  the 
"  Yankees  "  upon  the  Aroostook  lands,  which  he  regarded 
as  his  own.  Fortunately,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  of 
New  Brunswick,  General  Sir  John  Harvey,  was  the 
English  diplomat,  and  he  and  Scott  had  contracted  an 
enduring  friendship  while  fighting  on  opposite  sides  in  the 
war  of  1812.  They  both  exerted  themselves  to  calm  ex 
citement  in  Maine  and  New  Brunswick,  and  they  suc 
ceeded  in  having  the  soldiers  withdrawn  from  the  disputed 
territory,  and  the  matter  referred  to  their  respective 
governments,  and  a  final  adjustment  soon  followed. 

The  general's  uniform  success  on  the  Canadian  frontiers 
and  in  Maine  had  new  burnished  his  glories,  and  he  was 
the  happiest  of  men.  On  our  return  from  Augusta,  and 
during  our  delay  of  a  week  at  Boston,  he  conversed  fre 
quently  with  the  eloquent  Unitarian  preacher,  William 
Ellery  Channing,  who  was  almost  a  dwarf  in  person,  and 
very  weak  and  sickly  in  appearance.  I  was  struck  with 
the  strange  contrast  as  they  sat  together,  and  with  the 
unusual  attention  with  which  the  giant  warrior  watched 
the  lips  of  the  puny  moralist.  The  general  was  charmed 
with  Dr.  Channing,  and  after  a  two  hours'  conference  with 


Scott's  Candidacy.  139 

him  he  declared  to  me  that  he  fancied  he  had  been  con 
versing  with  a  Grecian  sage. 

The  man  of  arms  appears  also  to  have  captivated  the 
peaceful  theologian,  for  in  the  succeeding  autumn  Dr. 
Channing  wrote  a  lecture  on  War,  in  which  he  devoted 
two  paragraphs  "  to  the  honor  of  the  autobiographer's 
peace  labors."  The  last  paragraph  concluded  in  the 
following  words  :  "  There  is  so  much  noble  generosity  of 
character  about  Scott,  independent  of  his  skill  and  bravery 
as  a  soldier,  that  his  life  has  really  been  one  of  romantic 
beauty  and  interest !  " 

General  Scott  had  long  secretly  cherished  the  hope 
that  he  would  one  day  become  President  of  the  United 
States.  His  success  as  a  pacificator  of  the  troubles 
on  the  Canadian  frontier,  his  admirable  conduct  in 
the  removal  of  the  Cherokee  Indians,  his  diplomatic 
triumph  in  the  settlement  of  the  Northeastern  boun 
dary,  all  tended  to  satisfy  him  that  he  had  won  the 
confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  that  in  considera 
tion  of  his  great  military  services,  his  ability  and  patriot 
ism,  they  would  cheerfully  bestow  upon  him  the  highest 
distinction  in  their  power. 

The  Whig  convention  which  met  at  Harrisburg  in 
the  year  1839  discussed  the  names  of  three  candidates, 
Clay,  Scott  and  Harrison.  Scott  watched  its  proceed 
ings  with  the  eagerness  of  a  falcon,  and  his  disappoint 
ment  at  not  being  nominated  was  correspondingly  in 
tense. 

It  was  a  signal  good  fortune  to  Scott  that  he  was  left 
out  and  enabled  subsequently  to  pursue  his  military 
career  in  Mexico,  and  to  enjoy  in  his  old  age  the  afflu 
ence  which  his  country  cheerfully  bestowed  for  his  great 
services,  instead  of  penury,  which  must  certainly  have 
fallen  to  his  lot  as  ex-President. 


140  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

It  was  different  with  Mr.  Clay,  whose  failure  deserves 
a  tear  from  every  one  who  can  sympathize  with  the  dis 
appointment  of  the  most  attractive  orator,  statesman, 
and  patriot  that  is  known  to  our  history.  When  I  first 
heard  Mr.  Clay  speak  he  was  old,  and  his  person  and 
voice  betrayed  the  havoc  of  time.  Enough  remained, 
however,  to  testify  to  the  wonderful  endowments  of  his 
prime.  His  son  Henry  was  three  years  in  the  Military 
Academy  with  me,  and  we  belonged  to  the  same  debating 
society.  His  fresh  voice  reminded  aged  persons  of  his 
father's,  though  they  declared  it  far  less  sweet  and 
powerful,  and  he  had  neither  the  genius  nor  the  com 
manding  presence  of  his  sire ;  nevertheless,  when  the 
young  man  spoke  I  always  wished  him  to  continue,  for 
his  intonation  never  tired.  When  the  matchless  voice  of 
the  great  statesman,  Henry  Clay,  was  silenced  by  death, 
the  grief  of  his  surviving  friends  was  like  the  unwordable 
sorrow  that  oppresses  the  heart  when  memory  turns  back 
to  recall  the  joys  that  can  return  no  more. 

Before  presenting  my  own  opinion  of  General  Scott  as 
a  politician,  I  will  give  that  of  President  Lincoln,  as  I  re 
ceived  it  in  1861. 

I  was  sent  by  my  chief  to  the  President  with  a  message 
that  referred  to  a  military  subject  and  led  to  a  discussion. 
Finding  Mr.  Lincoln's  observations  were  beginning  to 
tangle  my  arguments,  I  said :  "  That  is  the  opinion  of 
General  Scott,  and  you  know,  Mr.  President,  that  he  is  a 
very  able  military  man."  "Well,"  said  the  President, 
"  if  he  is  as  able  a  military  man  as  he  is  unable  as  a  poli 
tician,  I  give  up."  This  was  said  with  an  expression  of 
the  eye,  which  he  turned  on  me,  that  was  peculiar  to 
him,  and  which  signified  a  great  deal.  The  astounding 
force  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  observation  was  not  at  all  dimin 
ished  by  the  fact  that  I  had  long  suspected  that  my  chief 


Scott  as  a  Statesman.  141 

lacked  something  which  is  necessary  to  make  a  successful 
politician. 

In  some  respects  General  Scott  resembled  that  class  of 
people  whom  the  great  Napoleon  designated  as  ideal- 
ologlstSy  by  which  he  referred  to  all  such  men  and  women 
who  derived  their  convictions  from  reverie,  cogitation,  or 
meditation  without  regard  to  facts  or  experience.  Na 
poleon's  designation  also  embraced,  or  implied,  all  men 
and  women  who  regard  human  nature  as  perfectable  by 
simple  indulgent  treatment,  by  persuasion,  and  chiefly  by 
cramming  with  book-learning,  without  inculcating  re 
spect,  discipline,  and  love  of  manual  labor  with  it;  and 
also  all  such  as  think  it  just  to  tax  the  industrious,  provi 
dent,  and  self-denying,  out  of  all  their  earnings  to  sup 
port  and  give  place  to  those  who  have  the  misfortune  to 
be  idle,  drunken,  debauched,  and  shiftless,  and  those  who 
make  constant  excuses  for  and  pay  court  to  assassins, 
thieves,  and  murderers.  It  was  only  the  first  branch  of 
Napoleon's  definition  that  had  the  least  application  to 
General  Scott,  and  with  none  of  the  others  had  he  the 
slightest  affinity. 

The  political  ideas  which  he  entertained  seemed  to  be 
in  some  respects  nourished  by  sources  within  himself, 
and  he  never  came  near  enough  to  the  lower  strata  of 
voters  to  be  able  to  sympathize  with  their  affections*  and 
motives.  Mr.  Lincoln  and  General  Jackson,  the  two 
Presidents  who  differed  the  most  essentially  in  disposi 
tion,  each  found  his  way  to  the  hearts  of  the  people,  but 
by  different  roads.  General  Jackson  had  neither  pardon 
nor  pity  for  his  enemies,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  loved  all  man 
kind.  General  Scott  was  between  the  two,  and  hated 
only  his  rivals  and  those  who  belittled  him,  while  his  love 
for  the  balance  of  his  fellow-beings  was  far  greater  than 
he  had  credit  for.  When  he  undertook  to  please  the 


142  Fifty  Year 3   Observation. 

people  he  offered  them  toys,  which  they  rejected.  In 
his  stump  speeches  his  jokes  and  arguments  were  not 
recognizable  by  his  audiences,  consequently  he  lost  votes 
and  was  stifled  in  his  own  effusions. 

As  a  statesman,  especially  in  that  department  of  states 
manship  which  exerts  itself  to  uphold  the  dignity  of  a 
nation  in  its  internal  and  external  relations,  General  Scott 
was  better  fitted.  Neither  the  exercise  of  official  vigil 
ance  and  power  nor  the  complexity  of  negotiations  ever 
fatigued  him,  nor  was  his  watchfulness  ever  at  fault.  In 
discussing  international  questions  with  the  representa 
tives  of  foreign  powers,  and  especially  in  defining  the 
terms  of  settlement  of  the  Northeastern  boundary  with 
Sir  John  Harvey,  and  Sir  John  Caldwell,  his  deputy, 
Scott  displayed  an  amount  of  information  and  finesse  as 
a  diplomatist  which  was  surprising.  He  also  exhibited 
high-bred  courtesy  in  his  discussions,  which  were  in 
marked  contrast  with  his  dogmatic  impatience  on  some 
other  occasions. 

In  order  to  define  General  Scott's  merits  as  a  patriot  it 
is  not  enough  to  say  that  he  was  passionately  devoted  to 
his  country  and  to  the  Union  of  the  States,  and  that  he 
was  willing  to  bestow  his  talents  and  to  sacrifice  his  life 
to  render  that  country  glorious,  but  we  must  pry  into  the 
secrets  of  his  heart  and  try  and  ascertain  the  kind  of 
government  he  thought  the  best.  It  was  during  the  year 
1847  or  1848,  in  a  conversation  he  had,  in  my  presence, 
with  a  confidential  friend  since  deceased,  upon  the  sub 
ject  of  universal  suffrage,  that  I  heard  the  following  re 
mark  from  General  Scott :  "  I  was,"  said  he,  "  recently 
discussing  this  same  subject  of  universal  suffrage  and  a 
democratic  republic,  with  a  highly  distinguished  North 
ern  personage,  who  surprised  me  by  saying  that  a  man 
who  was  not  a  Republican  up  to  thirty  years  of  age 
was  a  rascal,  but  if  after  thirty  he  was  a  Republican  he 


Scott  and  Immigration.  143 

was  a  fool."  Many  circumstances  and  casual  obser 
vations  on  other  occasions  convinced  me  that  General 
Scott  was  not  by  any  means  in  favor  of  making  the 
suffrage  absolutely  equal  and  universal  as  it  is  with  us 
now.  It  is  proper  that  I  should  add,  however,  that  on  no 
occasion  did  I  ever  hear  him  say  or  do  anything  that 
tended  in  the  slightest  degree  to  raise  the  suspicion  that 
he  was  in  favor  of  a  monarchical  government  for  the 
United  States.  On  the  contrary,  I  am  certain  he  was  not 
in  favor  of  such  a  form  for  his  own  country.  Neverthe 
less,  he  was  entirely  indifferent  to  the  choice  of  govern 
ments  adopted  in  other  parts  of  the  world. 

At  another  time,  when  he  was  canvassing  for  the  Presi 
dency,  it  appeared  that  he  was  called  on  to  explain  a  re 
mark  which  had  been  imputed  to  him  that  savored  of 
Know-Nothingism.  I  was  not  present  when  the  enquiring 
politician  asked  for  an  explanation,  but  the  general  him 
self  afterwards  enlightened  me.  He  told  me  he  was  at 
one  time  in  Philadelphia  during  a  riot  raised  by  foreign 
ers,  a  majority  of  whom  were  Irish.  Shocked  by  the  brutal 
insolence  of  the  rioters,  while  walking  with  a  friend,  he 
exclaimed  :  "  It  would  be  better  if  the  native-born  citizens 
would  find  some  means  to  repress  this  kind  of  turbulence, 
etc.,  etc."  Although  I  never  heard  him  avow  more 
distinct  Know-Nothing  sentiments,  yet  I  never  heard  him 
utter  a  word  to  indicate  that  he  was  willing  our  fair  land 
should  become,  or  should  continue  to  be,  "the  refuge 
of  the  oppressed  of  all  nations."  Such  a  fanatical 
euphemism  as  that  would  not  befit  the  manly  lips  of  a 
true  patriot  like  General  Winfield  Scott.  All  right 
minded  Americans  would  gladly  make  that  sickening 
apothegm  obsolete,  and  no  longer  consent  to  have  our 
country  used  as  a  cesspool  and  spitbox  for  the  whole 
earth. 

There  is  another  strong  negative  proof  that  General 


144  Fifty   Years    Observation. 

Scott  desired  that  Americans  should  rule  America.  It  is 
the  attitude  that  he  maintained  in  regard  to  the  hordes  of 
itinerant  patriots,  ambulatory  philanthropists,  and  blatant 
disturbers  of  the  world's  peace,  that  from  time  to  time 
wing  their  flight  from  other  lands  and  settle  like  unclean 
fowls  upon  our  shores,  or  who  exhaust  their  howling  at 
home.  I  never  heard  from  him  a  word  of  approval  of,  or 
interest  in,  Kossuth,  Garibaldi,  Mazzini,  Blanqui,  Victor 
Hugo,  the  German  Lasalle,  nor  any  one  of  the  innumer 
able,  never-ending  chronic  flood  of  Irish  patriots  and  agi 
tators.  He  had  no  liking  for  those  native-born  Ameri 
cans  whose  rarefied  intellects  and  feeble  reasoning 
powers  led  them  to  sympathize  with  the  strange  creatures 
I  have  just  referred  to,  nor  was  he  in  unison  with  the  so- 
called  "  reformers  "  of  any  country.  In  nine  cases  in  ten 
a  "  reformer  "  is  a  conceited  individual,  destitute  of  ex 
perience,  who,  when  he  thinks  his  follies  are  not  suffi 
ciently  appreciated,  strives  to  introduce  a  new  order  of 
things,  and  to  make  himself  notorious.  Genuine  re 
formers  are,  as  a  rule,  men  of  rare  ability,  who  are  seem 
ingly  unconscious  of  their  powers.  They  labor  unosten 
tatiously  to  achieve  their  aims,  and  when  their  benefi 
cent  work  is  accomplished,  they  often  live  and  die  in 
obscurity. 

The  most  difficult  task  yet  undertaken  by  man  has 
been  to  frame  a  government  under  which  every  man 
shall  have  an  equal  vote.  The  demands  of  the  populace 
and  the  concessions  of  their  leaders  soon  fritter  away  and 
destroy  all  that  is  respectable,  noble,  just,  or  prudent,  and 
then,  after  a  period  of  spoliation  and  anarchy,  the 
country  passes  to  the  domination  of  a  tyrant.  Such  has 
been  the  fate  of  all  democratic  republics  hitherto  known, 
and  such  is  destined  to  be  the  fate  of  ours,  unless  corrup 
tion  can  be  stayed  and  the  best  native-born  citizens  ad 
vanced  to  its  controlling  offices. 


Scotfs  Opinions  of  Officers.  145 

In  the  year  1846,  the  war  with  Mexico  commenced. 
It  is  foreign  to  my  purpose  to  repeat  the  arguments 
for  and  against  the  invasion  of  that  country,  it  being 
certain  that  it  originated  with  the  slaveholders,  who 
designed  thereby  to  extend  the  area  of  their  favorite 
institution. 

That  war  produced  two  successful  candidates  for  the 
Presidency,  Taylor  and  Pierce,  and  it  awakened  the  as 
pirations  of  General  Scott  and  several  others  for  the 
same  office.  It  irritated  and  disappointed  many  men 
who  had  assisted  in  the  field,  as  well  as  a  still  greater 
number  v/ho  had  opposed  it.  I  was  not  a  partisan  on 
either  side,  and  when  my  application  to  be  relieved 
from  duty  at  the  Military  Academy  and  ordered  to  join 
my  regiment  was  conditionally  denied,  I  felt  no  regret. 
It  would  have  been  quite  different  if  I  had  foreseen  that 
we  should  acquire  at  the  peace  which  succeeded  the 
glorious  State  of  California. 

In  treating  of  General  Scott's  connection  with  the 
Mexican  war  I  am  entering  upon  the  most  difficult  task 
I  have  yet  encountered  in  my  reminiscences  of  the  time. 
He  forgets  that  he  had  been  allowed  to  gather  rich 
harvests  of  fame  under  the  Democratic  administration 
of  Mr.  Van  Buren,  and  that  now  the  same  party,  to 
which  he  was  loudly  opposed,  was  holding  out  to  him 
the  opportunity  to  win  new  laurels  in  a  foreign  field.  Be 
fore  drawing  his  sword,  with  fangs  out  he  swoops  upon 
the  President,  who  was  his  commander,  swashes  him  in 
his  ink-pot,  and  then  holds  him  up  thus : 

"  Mr.  Tyler,  like  many  of  his  successors,  was  weaker  in 
office  than  Mr.  Polk,  whose  little  strength  lay  in  the  most 
odious  elements  of  the  human  character — cunning  and 
hypocrisy.  It  is  true  that  these  qualities  when  discov 
ered  become  positive  weaknesses,  but  they  often  triumph 
7 


146  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

over  wisdom  and  virtue  before  discovery.  It  may  be 
added  that  a  man  of  meaner  presence  is  not  often  seen.  He 
was,  however,  virtually  the  nominee  of  General  Jackson." 

This  bolt  was  aimed  at  three  heads,  every  one  of 
which  he  hated.  The  autobiographer  next  proceeds  to 
discuss  General  Taylor  and  his  staff  officer,  Bliss,  who 
was  assigned  by  Scott  "  to  complement  the  qualities  and 
supply  the  defects  of  his  chief."  He  magnifies  the  preju 
dices  of  Taylor,  scales  his  virtues,  and  clearly  proves  a 
strange  discordancy  between  Old  Zack's  barbecue  speech 
while  he  was  being  feasted  after  the  war,  and  his  dis 
patches  and  letters  which  preceded  the  battle  of  Buena 
Vista.  Finally  he  salutes  the  "  neophyte  statesman"  as  he 
calls  Taylor,  at  the  edge  of  the  grave,  with  the  following 
mixed  compliment: 

"  He  had  no  vice  but  prejudice,  many  friends,  and  left 
behind  him  not  an  enemy  in  the  world,  not  even  the 
autobiographer,  whom  in  the  blindness  of  his  great  weak 
ness  he,  after  being  named  for  the  Presidency,  had  seri 
ously  wronged." 

Bliss  he  praises  without  stint  or  qualification,  and  de 
servedly,  since  the  army  did  not  contain  a  more  amiable, 
gifted,  and  accomplished  gentleman.  Bliss  was  cut  down 
by  death  before  he  had  reached  the  meridian  of  his  days. 

Prior  to  his  leaving  Washington,  and  after  it  had  been 
decided  to  order  him  to  Mexico,  General  Scott  was 
treated  by  Mr.  Polk  with  a  cordiality  that  won  his 
esteem.  His  warrant  of  command  from  Mr.  Marcy, 
Secretary  of  War,  was  an  elegant  document,  brimful  of 
confidence,  and  the  general  went  on  his  way  content. 
But  at  the  moment  he  was  about  to  embark  at  New 
Orleans  he  was  told  by  Mr.  Hodge  that  President  Polk 
had  asked  for  the  grade  of  Lieutenant-General,  which  was 
to  be  given  to  Senator  Benton,  who  was  to  be  placed  over 


Webster's  Characteristics.  147 

Scott.  The  latter  discredited  the  report,  which,  when  it 
was  proved  to  be  true,  drew  from  him  the  following 
blast : 

"A  grosser  abuse  of  human  confidence  is  nowhere 
recorded/' 

Whether  it  was  Mr.  Polk  or  the  Democratic  party  that 
suggested  Colonel  Benton  as  the  head  of  the  army  in 
Mexico  is  uncertain,  but  the  announcement  surprised  al 
most  everybody,  and  will,  I  trust,  excuse  a  more  ex 
tended  description  of  the  recipient  of  such  an  honor 
than  I  have  already  given. 

The  first  time  I  saw  Colonel  Benton  was  the  first  time  I 
ever  entered  the  Chamber  of  the  United  States  Senate,  in 
the  spring  of  1838,  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  asserting 
that  the  Senate  was  then  more  distinguished  by  the 
talents,  personal  appearance,  and  dignity  of  its  members 
than  it  has  ever  been  since.  There  were  five  among  them, 
every  one  of  whom  was  the  equal,  and  several  of  whom 
were  the  superiors,  of  any  Senator  who  has  succeeded 
them.  Those  five  were  Webster,  Clay,  Calhoun,  Benton, 
and  Silas  Wright.  Even  if  those  five  had  been  with 
drawn  and  the  remainder  increased  in  numbers  by  average 
men  to  the  present  complement,  that  Senate  would  have 
been  the  equal  of  any  one  during  the  last  twenty  years, 
for  it  would  still  have  possessed  John  Davis  of  Mas 
sachusetts,  James  Buchanan  of  Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Bayard  of 
Delaware,  and  Felix  Grundy  of  Tennessee,  and  other  able 
men.  Of  the  first  five  named,  Webster  and  Benton  were 
the  greatest,  made  so  by  native  talents  and  profound 
study ;  next  came  Silas  Wright,  for  judgment  and  common 
sense  ;  then  followed  Clay  with  his  brightness,  vast  obser 
vation,  oratory  and  gallant  bearing,  and  finally  lurking 
there  was  John  C.  Calhoun  with  his  abstractions  and 
cavernous  research.  Miss  Martineau  said  Calhoun  looked 


148  Fifty   Years    Observation. 

like  a  man  who  had  never  been  young.  To  me  he  looked 
like  a  priest  that  ministered  at  hidden  altars,  and  as  one 
who  practises  mysterious  rites.  He  was  of  no  sort  of 
benefit  to  the  world. 

Although  Mr.  Webster,  in  appearance  and  reasoning 
powers,  was  the  Hercules  of  the  Senate,  and  although  in 
the  opinion  of  Hall  McAllister  he  was  the  only  man  in 
the  country  able  at  all  times,  and  on  all  subjects,  to  make 
a  sensible  impromptu  speech,  he  had  one  disadvantage 
as  a  leader  when  compared  with  Senator  Benton.  Huge 
and  solemn  as  were  his  eyeballs,  vast  and  capacious  as 
was  his  skull,  massive  as  were  his  shoulders,  and  sonorous 
as  was  his  voice,  there  was  yet  occasionally  something 
deprecating  in  his  manners  and  apologetic  in  his  dis 
course.  These  deficiencies  for  championship  were  due  to 
the  influence  of  Puritanism,  which  had  done  its  work  upon 
him  in  his  youth. 

Puritan  public  opinion  is  the  most  inexorable  force  that 
has  been  generated  by  the  community  of  men.  It  forbids 
its  subjects  to  learn  the  arts  of  command,  which  are  re 
garded  as  the  attributes  of  tyrants,  it  permeates  and  sub 
dues  to  its  behests  the  most  stubborn  dispositions,  and  it 
had  chiselled  its  hard  lines  ineffacably  upon  the  character 
of  Daniel  Webster.  It  had  infused  into  his  nature  a  vague 
sense  of  fear  and  accountability  that  sometimes  made  him 
timid  when  there  was  no  danger,  and  weakened  the  force 
of  his  blow  lest  he  should  too  much  bruise  the  offender. 
It  was  impossible  that  such  a  man  should  become  a  suc 
cessful  political  leader ;  and  relying  upon  the  gratitude  of 
the  Republic  to  reward  his  great  services  rendered, 
missing  the  Presidency,  and  shocked  by  the  ingratitude 
and  want  of  appreciation  of  his  fellow-citizens,  he  pined 
to  death,  instead  of  raging  to  death,  which  would  have 
been  more  heroic. 


A    Talk  with  Benton.  149 

What  would  have  been  the  renown  of  Mr.  Webster  if 
his  nurture  had  been  chivalric,  can  only  be  conjectured, 
but,  in  my  opinion,  it  would  have  been  like  a  legend  to 
link  himself  with  our  history,  to  descend  through  in 
numerable  generations. 

Mr.  Benton,  though  inferior  in  mental  depth  to  Mr. 
Webster,  had  been  fashioned  in  his  boyhood  in  a  less 
rigid  school  of  morals.  His  native  dominating  qualities 
had  been  developed  and  expanded  to  their  utmost,  and 
consequently  there  was  a  repose  and  assurance  in  his 
manners  which  nothing  could  disturb.  His  healthy,  erect, 
and  commanding  person  seemed  a  fitting  socket  for  his 
resolute  will.  V/henever  I  visited  the  Senate  Chamber 
my  eyes  were  often  fixed  on  him,  and  if,  when  leaving,  a 
friend  had  called  out  to  say,  "  Senator  Benton  is  rising  to 
speak,"  I  should  have  returned  to  hear  him  against  a 
greater  urgency  of  business  than  for  any  other  speaker. 
Time,  which  has  verified  the  wisdom  of  his  policy,  has  also 
justified  the  admiration  I  felt  for  the  august  Missourian 
patriot  and  statesman. 

I  might  relate  several  anecdotes  of  Mr.  Benton,  but 
one  must  suffice.  In  New  York  I  had  been  accustomed 
to  a  paper  currency  and  thought  it  the  best.  In  Cali 
fornia  I  changed  my  views  and  became  a  convert  to  Mr. 
Benton's  hard-money  doctrines.  Being  about  to  return 
East  after  a  long  sojourn  in  San  Francisco,  Mr.  Page,  the 
head  of  the  banking  firm  of  Page  &  Bacon,  requested 
me  to  see  Mr.  Benton  and  tell  him  how  admirably  his 
theory  was  working  in  practice.  I  accordingly  made  my 
way  to  his  house  in  Washington,  and  found  the  Senator 
alone  in  a  room  writing  on  a  table  without  a  cover.  The 
walls  were  bare  and  the  furniture  of  the  plainest  descrip 
tion.  The  apartment,  however,  contained  a  man  who 
was  insensible  to  moral  and  physical  fear,  and  he  inte- 


150  Fifty   Years'  Observation. 

rested  me  more  than  would  all  the  beautiful  objects  ever 
designed  by  Benvenuto  Cellini,  or  gathered  together  by 
the  Baron  Davillier.  My  reception,  though  it  was  stately, 
did  not  prevent  me  from  broaching  the  subject  of  my 
visit  with  a  flippancy  which  would  have  offended  the 
great  personage  if  it  had  not  been  in  such  a  flattering 
strain  as  would  have  mollified  the  traits  of  a  behemoth. 
I  described  the  joyousness  of  old  Mr.  Page  in  his  bank 
with  heaps  of  gold  in  sight,  watching  the  business  of 
a  mart  where  paper  money  was  excluded  and  short 
credits  exacted.  I  told  him  of  my  own  conversion  from 
having  been  such  a  young  devotee  to  paper  and  long 
credits,  that  when  I  read  of  his  and  General  Jackson's 
war  on  the  United  States  Bank,  and  the  bills  of  all 
banks,  I  should  have  been  glad  to  see  both  their  heads 
chopped  off !  I  told  him  how  I  had  sworn  in  my  own 
heart  never  to  take  another  bank-note,  and  that  the 
thought  of  one,  reeking  and  enslimed  with  the  sweat  and 
filth  of  the  many  begrimed  hands  through  which  it  had 
passed,  disgusted  me.  Then  I  went  on  to  confess  how, 
after  an  absence  of  nearly  four  years,  I  landed  in  New 
York,  hired  a  hack  for  two  dollars  to  carry  me  home,  and 
how  finally  the  hackman,  being  without  coin,  took  my 
five-dollar  gold  piece  and  returned  to  me  a  three-dollar 
note,  which  I  received  ! 

At  this  point  Old  Bullion's  countenance  underwent  a 
sudden  change,  and  with  an  air  and  voice  that  would 
have  suited  a  Caliph  of  Bagdad  he  rebuked  me.  "  Young 
man,"  said  he,  "you  were  wrong  to  take  the  three-dollar 
note — you  had  no  right  to  barter  your  principles.  The 
paper  you  received  was  probably  without  intrinsic  value. 
Such  notes  pass  from  hand  to  hand  like  other  counters  of 
gamblers,  and  are  not  intended  to  be  redeemed.  They 
enrich  knaves,  sir,  and  rob  the  industrious.  Better  return 


A  Burst  of  Ill-temper.  151 

to  your  California  teachings."  A  little  more  in  the  same 
strain,  and  I  left,  feeling  as  though  I  had  been  tossed  by  a 
bull. 

If  the  stupendous  individuality  I  have  described  had 
been  commissioned  as  lieutenant-general,  a  rank  then 
unknown  to  our  service,  and  sent  to  place  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  army  in  Mexico,  and  give  orders  to  such 
battle-scarred  veterans  as  Scott,  Wool,  Taylor,  and  Worth, 
it  would  have  been  a  shocking  injustice.  Fortunately  for 
them  the  plan  failed,  and  Mr.  Benton  was  left  to  pursue 
his  civil  career  and  to  write  his  "  Thirty  Years  in  the 
Senate." 

The  autobiographer's  twenty-eighth  chapter  opens  with 
an  exposition  of  ill-temper,  which  it  would  have  been 
better  for  the  fame  of  his  book  if  he  had  omitted.  His 
spite,  though  not  wholly  without  cause,  is  so  condensed 
and  sweeping,  and  so  replete  with  injustice  towards 
certain  men  whose  names  I  respect,  that  I  make  no  excuse 
for  reproducing  it  in  his  own  words  as  follows  : 

"  Successful  as  was  every  prediction,  plan,  siege,  battle, 
and  skirmish  of  mine  in  the  Mexican  war,  I  have  here 
paused  many  weeks  to  overcome  the  repugnance  I  feel  to 
an  entrance  on  the  narrative  of  the  campaign  it  was  my 
fortune — I  had  almost  said  misfortune — to  conduct  with 
half  means,  beginning  at  Vera  Cruz,  March  9,  and  termi 
nating  in  the  capital  of  the  country,  September  14,  1847, 
six  months  and  five  days.  This  feeling  is  occasioned  by 
the  lively  recollection  of:  i.  The  perfidy  of  Mr.  Polk; 
2.  The  senseless  and  ungrateful  clamor  of  Taylor,  which, 
like  his  other  prejudices,  abode  with  him  to  the  end  ;  3.  The 
machinations  of  an  ex  aide-de-camp,  who  owed  his  public 
status  mainly  to  my  helping  hand  ;  a  vain  man  of  weak 
principles,  and  most  inordinate  ambition.  The  change 
commenced  on  hearing  that  I  had  fallen  under  the  ban  at 


152  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

Washington  ;  4.  The  machinations  of  a  Tennessee  major- 
general,  the  special  friend  and  partisan  of  Mr.  Polk,  an 
anomaly — without  the  least  malignity  in  his  nature — 
amiable,  and  possessed  of  some  acuteness,  but  the  only 
person  I  have  ever  known  who  was  wholly  indifferent  in 
the  choice  between  truth  and  falsehood,  honesty  and  dis 
honesty  ; — ever  as  ready  to  attain  an  end  by  the  one  as 
the  other,  and  habitually  boastful  of  acts  of  cleverness  at 
the  total  sacrifice  of  moral  character.  Procuring  the  nomi 
nation  of  Mr.  Polk  for  the  Presidency,  he  justly  considered 
his  greatest  triumph  in  that  way.  These  conspirators — 
for  they  were  soon  coalesced,  were  joined  by  like  charac 
ters — the  first  in  time  and  malignity,  a  smart  captain  of 
artillery,  whom  they  got  breveted,  on  brevet,  more  for 
the  smoke  of  his  guns  than  their  shots,  and  to  whom  Mr. 
Polk,  near  the  end  of  his  term,  gave  the  substantial  re 
ward  of  colonel  and  inspector-general,  an  office  that 
happened  to  fall  vacant  just  then.  '  The  ox  knoweth  his 
owner,  and  the  ass  his  master's  crib.'  And  alas,  poor 
human  nature  !  Even  the  brave  Colonel  Riley,  the  hero 
of  Contreras  (for  which  he  was  made  brigadier  after 
wards),  got  the  brevet  of  major-general,  and  the  command 
in  California,  by  yielding  to  some  weakness  (see  his  testi 
mony  in  the  Pillow  investigation).  These  appointments 
proved  an  estate  to  Riley.  The  certainty  of  such  fat 
benefits  freely  promised  by  the  conspiration  called  into 
activity  the  sordid  passions  of  other  bribeworthy  officers. 
Hence  the  party  of  MISCREANTS  became  quite  respect 
able  in  numbers  after  the  conquest.  Those  were  not  the 
only  disgusts.  The  master  outrage  soon  followed. 

"The  offences  of  the  two  anonymous  generals  becom 
ing  a  little  too  prononct,  I  arrested  them  both,  and  asked 
that  a  court  might  be  ordered  for  their  trial.  A  court  was 
ordered,  I  was  relieved  in  the  command,  and  the  wronged 


Worth  and  Duncan.  153 

and  the  wrong-doers,  with  stern  impartiality,  placed  be 
fore  the  tribunal ! !  If  I  had  lost  the  campaign  it  would 
have  been  difficult  to  heap  upon  me  greater  vexations  and 
mortifications." 

In  that  portion  of  my  reminiscences  of  General  Scott 
which  were  written  before  I  had  read  the  autobiography, 
the  reader  will  have  observed  my  remark,  that  in  matters 
of  rivalry  my  chief  would  instantly  go  out  of  his  own  skin 
into  that  of  an  angry  porcupine  with  every  quill  standing 
fiercely  on  end.  The  foregoing  extracts  make  it  evident 
that  the  fretful  porcupine  does  not  serve  for  a  proper 
simile,  and  another  beast  of  a  less  discriminating  and 
more  volting  ferocity  must  be  substituted.  Nothing  I 
ever  saw  in  General  Scott's  conduct,  or  heard  in  his  dis 
course,  disclosed  such  a  degree  of  rancor  and  selfishness 
as  he  himself  has  published  to  the  world,  and  I  am  unwill 
ing  to  admit  that  he  has  reported  himself  correctly.  His 
arrest  before  his  subordinates  had  been  tried  was  an  act 
of  stupid  cruelty  to  a  successful  commander,  and  the 
memory  of  that  and  many  other  vexations  soured  his 
mind  to  such  a  degree  as  to  cloud  his  judgment,  and  lead 
him  to  denounce  several  of  our  most  meritorious  officers 
as  "  miscreants,  sordid  and  bribeworthy" 

A  defence  of  the  two  Presidents,  Polk  and  Taylor,  by 
me  would  be  superfluous,  and  in  regard  to  the  Tennessee 
major-general,  Gideon  J.  Pillow,  I  never  saw  him,  and 
never  heard  a  man  speak  of  him  who  was  not  his  declared 
enemy ;  consequently  I  know  nothing  of  General  Pillow. 
The  ex  aide-de-camp  referred  to,  General  William  J. 
Worth,  I  knew  as  intimately  as  I  could  know  a  man  who 
was  old  enough  to  be  my  father.  He  was  the  command 
ant  of  the  corps  while  I  was  a  cadet,  and  it  was  he,  above 
all  other  men,  who  impressed  upon  it  the  martial  character 
it  has  since  always  borne.  He  was  one  of  the  autobio- 
7* 


154  Fifty  Dears'  Observation. 

grapher's  most  energetic  assistants  during  the  Canadian 
patriot  troubles,  and  in  the  removal  of  the  Cherokees, 
where,  by  Scott's  selection,  he  was  chief  of  staff. 
Throughout  a  period  of  more  than  thirty  years,  and  up  to 
the  commencement  of  the  Mexican  war,  the  two  officers 
had  been  surprisingly  intimate,  for  Worth's  compliments 
to  the  general  were  always  fulsome,  and  when  the  former 
returned  from  his  command  against  the  Seminole  Indians 
in  Florida,  the  latter  received  him  with  caressing  fondness. 

Many  officers  thought  that  Worth  had  more  ability  to 
inspire  his  soldiers  than  Scott  himself.  Alden  told  me 
he  was  at  Palo  Alto  when  Worth  came  in  from  a  rccon- 
noissance  after  sunset,  and  at  his  approach  Alden  fancied 
he  "  saw  a  son  of  Mars  riding  in  darkness."  The  fables 
must  be  searched  to  find  an  officer  with  a  more  sparkling 
eye  and  a  more  gallant  bearing,  or  one  who  was  more  pro 
digal  of  himself  where  the  clang  of  arms  was  loudest.  Yet 
when  this  magnificent  officer  discovered  a  passage  around 
Lake  Chalco  and  reported  it  to  General  Scott,  he  was  met 
with  a  rebuke,  and  a  declaration  that  the  passage  had  al 
ready  been  discovered  by  another.  Then  it  was  that  the 
virus  of  rivalry  entered  the  heart  of  the  autobiographer  and 
wrought  upon  his  sense  as  suddenly  as  the  juice  of  the 
cursed  hebenon  curdled  the  blood  of  the  Royal  .Dane. 

The  "  smart  captain  of  artillery,  whom  they  (the  con 
spirators),  got  breveted,  on  brevet,  more  for  the  smoke 
of  his  guns  than  their  shots,"  was  James  Duncan.  I 
knew  him  while  we  were  two  years  together  in  the 
Military  Academy,  though  not  of  the  same  class,  and  I 
knew  him  as  an  officer.  His  manners  were  quiet,  and  he 
was  not  especially  popular  with  the  cadets,  among  whom 
personal  beauty  is  as  much  prized  as  among  girls,  and 
James  was  not  handsome,  but  his  perseverance  and  un 
swerving  good  conduct  secured  him  respect.  After 


Vera  Cruz.  155 

graduating  he  continued  his  devotion  to  duty  and  study 
till  he  was  acknowledged  by  his  brother  officers  to  be  one 
of  the  most  accomplished  artillerists  in  the  service.  In 
the  valley  of  Mexico  the  good  order  of  Duncan's  Battery 
and  the  spirit  and  effect  with  which  he  handled  it  in  bat 
tle  were  so  remarkable  that  when  he  was  made  inspector- 
general  his  promotion  was  generally  conceded  to  have 
been  well  earned.  What  Duncan's  offence  against  Gen 
eral  Scott  was  I  am  not  aware,  and  no  obligation  towards 
my  former  chief  requires  me  to  search  for  it,  when  I 
consider  his  reckless  and  unjustifiable  assault  upon  the 
characters  of  two  such  noble  public  servants  as  were  my 
friends  Worth  and  Duncan,  who  did  most  deserving  ser 
vice  for  their  country  and  died  prematurely  at  their  posts 
of  duty. 

The  siege  of  Vera  Cruz  was  conducted  with  such  skill 
and  success  as  to  allow  no  room  for  censure.  Scott's 
plan  to  capture  the  city  by  regular  approach,  rather  than 
by  assault,  avoiding  the  guns  of  the  castle  of  San  Juan 
de  Ulloa,  was  approved  by  his  chosen  advisers,  and  its 
execution  committed  to  the  supervision  of  Colonel,  after 
wards  General,  Joseph  G.  Totten,  chief  engineer  of  the 
United  States  Army,  and  a  man  of  extraordinary  merit. 
The  capitulation,  which  followed  quickly  on  the  27th 
March,  1847,  was  an  enormous  advantage.  The  siege 
had  not  cost  the  lives  of  many  of  our  people,  but  among 
the  killed  were  Captains  John  R.  Vinton  and  William  Al- 
burtis,  upon  whom  the  autobiographer  bestows  unusual 
compliments.  Vinton  was  a  first- class  officer,  and  his 
death  was  a  serious  loss  to  the  army.  Nevertheless  he 
had  suffered  many  an  official  slight  for  being  a  Northern 
man,  or  I  am  not  a  competent  witness  in  any  case. 

Notwithstanding  the  brilliant  achievement  at  Vera 
Cruz,  and  the  admirable  conduct  of  the  campaign  that 


156  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

succeeded,  all  of  which  the  public  had  abundantly 
acknowledged,  the  autobiographer,  after  an  interval  of 
nearly  fifteen  years,  proceeds  in  his  notice  of  that  siege 
to  expose  in  strange  relief  the  prevailing  weakness  of  his 
character.  "  Although,"  he  writes,  "  I  know  our  country 
men  will  hardly  acknowledge  a  victory  unaccompanied 
by  a  long  butcher's  bill  [report  of  killed  and  wounded],  I 
am  strongly  inclined — policy  concurring  with  humanity — 
to  forego  their  loud  applause  and  aves  vehement,  and 
take  the  city  with  the  least  possible  loss  of  life.  In  this 
determination  I  know,  as  Dogberry  says  truly  of  himself, 
I  write  me  down  an  ass.' " 

The  above  is  in  the  text,  and  one  would  suppose  it  the 
climax  of  ill-humor,  but  it  is  followed  by  a  note  which 
must  be  quoted  entire  to  show  with  what  labored  in 
genuity  he  has  piled  one  folly  upon  another. 

Behold  the  note ! 

"  When  the  victory  of  Buena  Vista  reached  Major- 
General  Brooke,  a  noble  old  soldier  commanding  at  New 
Orleans,  and  a  friend  of  Major-General  Taylor,  he  rushed 
with  the  report  in  hand  through  the  streets  to  the  ex 
change  and  threw  the  whole  city  into  a  frenzy  of  joy.  By 
and  by  came  the  news  that  the  Stars  and  Stripes  waved 
over  Vera  Cruz  and  its  castle,  and  Brooke,  also  a  friend 
of  mine,  was  again  eager  to  spread  the  report.  Some 
body  in  the  crowd  early  called  out :  *  How  many  men 
has  Scott  lost  ? '  Brooke  was  delighted  to  reply :  '  Less 
than  a  hundred ! '  *  That  won't  do/  was  promptly  re 
joined.  l  Taylor  always  loses  thousands.  He  is  the  man 
for  my  money ! '  Only  a  few  faint  cheers  were  heard  for 
Vera  Cruz.  The  long  butcher's  bill  was  wanted.  When 
I  received  friend  Brooke's  letter  giving  the  details,  I  own 
that  my  poor  human  nature  was  piqued  for  a  moment, 
and  I  said,  '  Never  mind,  Taylor  is  a  Louisianian.  We 


North  and  South  In  the  Mexican  War.          157 

shall  in  due  time  hear  the  voice  of  the  Middle,  the  North 
ern,  and  the  Eastern  States ;  they  will  estimate  victories 
on  different  principles/  But  I  was  mistaken.  The  key 
note  raised  in  New  Orleans  was  taken  up  all  over  the 
land.-  Mortifications  are  profitable  to  sufferers,  and  I 
record  mine  to  teach  aspirants  to  fame  to  cultivate 
humility ;  for  blessed  is  the  man  who  expects  little  and 
can  gracefully  submit  to  less." 

I  doubt  if  General  Scott's  worst  enemy  could  have 
alleged  anything  more  disparaging  to  his  nature  than  the 
above  extracts  from  his  own  pen,  and  yet  to  me  they 
count  for  little,  since  I  know  how  much  he  was  given  to 
exaggerations  when  he  was  in  an  irritable  state  of  mind, 
which  was  often.  All  men  of  all  ages  who  have  aspired 
to  exclusive  fame  have  been  oppressed  by  the  honors 
paid  to  rivals  in  the  same  line.  Haman,  when  he  saw 
Mordecai  sitting  in  the  king's  gate,  erected  a  gallows 
upon  which  he  intended  his  rival  should  swing,  but  upon 
which  he  himself  finally  swung.  Scott  shows  his  freedom 
from  hypocrisy  when  he  confesses  how  much  he  was 
piqued  "by  the  "  loud  applause  and  aves  vehement,"  paid 
to  Taylor  rather  than  to  himself.  But  it  is  evident  he 
would  not  have  strangled  "  Old  Zack  "  if  he  had  had 
the  power,  since  he  makes  his  pique  the  subject  of  an 
admonition  to  humility. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  attempt  a  history  of  the  war 
with  Mexico,  but  a  few  remarks  upon  it,  I  trust,  will  be 
excused. 

The  small  armies  with  which  General  Scott  forced  his 
way  to  the  City  of  Mexico  and  conquered  it,  and  that 
with  which  General  Taylor  beat  Santa  Anna  at  Buena 
Vista,  were  as  well  officered  as  any  that  ever  took  the 
field  in  modern  times,  and  were  most  ably  commanded. 
Without  such  advantages  it  would  have  been  impossible 


158  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

for  them  to  overcome  the  stupendous  obstacles  that 
opposed  them.  As  an  American  I  should  have  exulted 
in  their  prowess  had  I  not  been  depressed  with  a  feeling 
of  degradation  when  I  saw  that  all  the  chiefs  in  highest 
command,  as  well  as  all  the  heroes  of  minor  exploits,  were 
Southern  men.  When  I  read  the  history  of  that  war,  the 
names  of  Scott,  Taylor,  Twiggs,  Harney,  Quitman,  Per- 
sifer  F.  Smith,  W.  O.  Butler,  Pillow,  Mclntosh,  Garland, 
Lawson,  Vandorne,  Jefferson  Davis,  R.  E.  Lee,  Beaure- 
gard,  Ringgold,  Humphrey  Marshall,  Bragg,  Huger,  G. 
W.  Smith,  and  Andrews,  are  seen  scattered  thick  and 
they  are  heard  afar. 

On  the  other  hand  the  names  of  the  Northern  officers 
of  equal  merit,  but  without  patronage,  such  as  Wool, 
N.  S.  Clarke,  Worth,  Totten,  Pierce,  Cadwalader,  Patter 
son,  Hitchcock,  Dimmick,  De  Hart,  Sumner,  Vinton, 
Burnett,  Thorn,  Thomas  W.  Sherman,  Kendrick,  J.  J. 
Stevens,  Kirkham,  Tower,  Robert  Allen,  Grant,  Rey 
nolds,  McClellan,  and  others,  are  seen  but  seldom,  and 
when  anecdotes  are  told  of  the  various  campaigns  by  the 
prattlers  of  both  sections,  the  accredited  hero  is  always  a 
Southerner ! 

The  reports  of  General  Scott  of  the  operations  of  his 
army  before  the  City  of  Mexico  place  fully  before  the 
reader  the  difficulty  of  the  situation.  They  also  demon 
strate  the  ability  of  its  commander,  the  excellence  of  his 
assistants  and  their  enterprising  bravery,  which  is  shown 
by  an  almost,  if  not  entirely,  unequalled  proportionate 
loss  in  battles  and  sieges  of  commissioned  officers.  These 
reports  also  display  an  extraordinary  spirit  of  fairness,  and 
I  confess  to  the  pleasure  I  felt  in  reading  them  to  find 
that  the  author  had  dismissed  all  his  antipathies,  and  had 
labored  to  bestow  praise  where  credit  was  due.  He  gives 
conspicuous  prominence  to  the  valor  of  Worth,  and 


Qualified  Compliments.  159 

enables  us  to  see  that  martial  figure  in  his  desperate 
attack  on  Molino  del  Rey,  in  the  assaults  upon  Chapulte- 
pec  and  the  gate  of  Cosme.  In  connection  with  the  first 
exploit  the  general  uses  the  significant  words :  "  Major- 
General  Worth,  in  whose  commendations  of  the  gallant 
officers  and  men — living  and  dead — I  fully  concur,"  etc. 
Of  Major-General  Pillow,  who  was  up  with  the  first  attack 
on  Chapultepec,  he  says  :  "  That  gallant  leader  was  struck 
down  by  an  agonizing  wound."  Many  other  officers  and 
non-commissioned  officers  are  complimented  with  a 
heartiness  that  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired. 

Nevertheless  in  brooding  for  years  over  the  events  of 
the  war,  the  autobiographer  indulges  in  retrospective 
comments  which  not  only  show  that  he  repented  of  his 
laudable  impulses,  but  that  he  was  willing  to  expose  in 
full  view  the  darkest  caverns  of  his  own  soul.  I  had 
intended,  in  my  reminiscences,  to  allow  only  such  a  faint 
glimpse  of  that  cavern  as  was  necessary  to  an  under 
standing  of  certain  instances  of  his  conduct.  If,  however, 
my  design  had  been  vengeance,  I  should  have  shrunk  from 
the  use  of  such  weapons  as  he  has  lavishly  employed 
against  himself,  and  of  which  the  following  note  is  an 
example : 

"  Litera  scripta  manet.  In  this  edition  of  my  reports 
of  battles,  etc.,  I,  of  course,  expunge  none  of  the  praises 
therein  bestowed  upon  certain  divisions  and  brigade  com 
manders,  but  as  a  caution  to  future  generals-in-chief,  I 
must  say,  I  soon  had  abundant  reason  to  know  that  I  had, 
in  haste,  too  confidently  relied  upon  the  partial  statements 
of  several  of  those  commanders  respecting  their  individ 
ual  skill  and  the  merits  of  a  few  of  their  favorite  subor 
dinates.  I  except  from  this  remark  Generals  Quitman, 
Shields,  P.  F.  Smith,  N.  S.  Clarke,  Riley  and  Cad- 
walader." 


160  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

This  simoom  of  a  note  was  intended  to  nip  the  laurels 
of  Generals  Twiggs,  Worth,  W.  O.  Butler,  Pillow,  Pierce, 
and  Gushing  among  the  chiefs,  and  Duncan,  Ripley, 
Hooker,  and  others,  among  the  favorite  subordinates. 
The  observations  I  have  made  upon  this  writer,  and  upon 
several  other  old  men,  and  old  women,  tend  to  the  conclu 
sion  that  wrath,  envy,  and  discontent  promote  longevity. 

Innumerable  surprises,  both  real  and  imaginative, 
awaited  the  invaders  of  Mexico  under  Scott.  They 
followed  in  the  track  of  Cortez,  like  him  to  encounter 
hosts  of  enemies  whose  defence  of  their  country  was  as 
sisted  by  nature  and  strengthened  by  art.  Volcanic 
eruptions  had  strewn  the  valley  with  jagged  pedregal, 
rocky  heights,  deep  chasms,  lakes,  and  marshes,  over 
which  many  bridges  and  causeways  led  to  the  city,  which 
was  protected  by  wet  ditches,  ramparts,  gates,  and  towers. 
The  bridges  and  causeways  had  been  broken,  and  behind 
all  these  natural  obstructions  on  the  plain  and  in  the 
forts,  which  crowned  the  heights,  the  enemy  awaited  with 
triple  numbers  the  approach  of  our  small  band  of  heroes, 
every  man  of  whom  the  Mexicans  confidently  expected 
to  destroy. 

The  head  of  Scott's  column  came  in  sight  of  the  capi 
tal  and  the  vast  surrounding  valley  of  Mexico  on  the  loth 
of  August,  1847,  arjd  it  was  then  for  the  first  time  that 
the  hostile  standard  of  the  United  States  could  be  seen 
fluttering  in  sight  from  the  halls  of  the  Montezumas. 
The  gallant  young  cavalry  officer,  Alfred  Gibbs,  in  a 
letter  exhausted  his  admirable  descriptive  powers  to  give 
an  idea  of  the  unspeakable  beauty  and  variety  of  the 
landscape,  and  the  enthusiasm  it  produced  in  all  ranks 
upon  our  army.  That  army  knew  without  instruction 
that  the  task  before  it  had  but  one  condition — it  was  to 
conquer  or  to  die ! 


The  Inauguration.  161 

But  neither  the  activity  nor  the  eloquence  of  Santa 
Anna  were  of  any  avail  against  the  aggressive  combina 
tions  of  Scott,  whose  rare  foresight  had  surprised  his 
troops  at  every  step  and  won  their  confidence.  He  ap 
peared  to  divine  every  movement  of  the  enemy  as 
though  he  had  been  in  their  ranks,  and  he  struck  where 
his  blow  was  least  expected.  After  a  series  of  assaults 
and  battles  following  in  quick  succession  at  a  terrible  cost 
in  blood,  despair  and  confusion  seized  upon  the  Mexi 
cans,  and  on  the  I4th  September  they  surrendered  their 
city. 

The  submission  was  quickly  followed  by  the  triumphal 
entry  of  the  army  into  the  capital,  Scott  riding  at  the 
head  of  the  cavalry.  The  bands  saluted  his  passage  with 
all  our  patriotic  strains,  and  the  whole  army  filled  the  air 
with  shouts  of  gladness  and  joy,  in  which  many  Mexicans 
joined.  After  so  many  dangers  passed  and  battles  won, 
it  might  be  supposed  that  the  surviving  actors  would  be 
bound  together  by  ties  of  lasting  friendship,  and  that 
every  vexation  would  be  forgotten.  But  who  has  ex 
plored  all  the  dark  chambers  of  the  human  heart  At 
the  very  time  of  the  triumph  the  demon  of  jealousy  was 
abroad,  and  its  echoes  had  scarcely  ceased  when  a  terri 
ble  discord  arose  among  the  chiefs  and  their  supporters, 
and  hatreds  were  engendered  which  death  could  not  end, 
since  they  survive  in  the  succeeding  generations.  Who 
among  the  discordants  was  most  guilty  of  destroying  the 
peace  I  have  no  means  of  judging;  and  having  sought  to 
be  impartial  in  my  comments  upon  the  merits  of  all,  I 
may  take  leave  of  the  Mexican  War  and  of  the  glorious 
realm  of  the  Aztecs. 


CHAPTER   X. 

Reminiscences  of  events  and  characters  from  the  time  of  my  first  service 
with  Scott  till  I  rejoined  his  staff  as  confidential  Military  Secretary. — My 
captaincy. — Farewell  dinner  from  Scott. — Life  in  Washington. — Ordered 
to  Florida. — W.  T.  Sherman. — Fort  Lauderdale. — George  H.  Thomas. — 
Lieutenant  Wyse,  and  other  officers. — Service  in  Florida. — In  New  Or 
leans. — General  Gaines. — Comparison  of  Scott  and  Gaines. — Ordered  to 
Fort  Moultrie. — The  voyage. — Purchase  of  a  slave. — The  officers  at  Fort 
Moultrie. — Quarrel  with  Bragg. — Anecdotes  of  other  officers. 

ON  the  3<Dth  day  of  November,  1841,  Captain  Schriver, 
Assistant  Adjutant-General,  came  into  my  room  in 
the  War  Office,  and  saluted  me  as  Captain  of  the  Third 
Regiment  of  Artillery.  A  superior  officer  had  died  the 
night  before  and  I  was  promoted  to  be  captain,  and  ceased 
to  be  the  aide-de-camp  of  General  Scott,  as  the  law  at  that 
time  required  him  to  select  his  aides  from  the  lieutenants 
of  the  army.  I  had  served  in  his  staff  eight  years,  less  a 
few  months  while  I  was  an  Assistant  Adjutant-General  in 
the  general  staff,  and  I  was  attached  to  my  chief  by  ties 
of  affection  and  gratitude. 

In  the  following  evening,  before  parting,  he  invited  me 
to  his  room,  where  he  had  brought  in  a  supper  of  can 
vas-back  ducks,  champagne,  etc.  Our  good  cheer  was 
not  more  enlivening  than  was  the  remembrance  of  the 
past.  I  had  always  accepted  his  advice  and  instruction 
with  spontaneous  docility.  I  was  in  the  morning  of  life, 
and  in  me  no  element  or  blossom  of  youth  had  been 
staled  by  excesses  nor  saddened  by  treachery  and  disap 
pointment.  In  that  glorious  time  a  thousand  things 


Ordered  to  Florida.  163 

could  make  me  joyous,  and  when  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning  the  general  took  me  by  the  hand  to  bid  me  fare 
well,  his  unspeakably  expressive  eye  beamed  on  me  like  a 
heavenly  messenger — and  thus  I  took  leave  of  my  bene 
factor  to  brave  the  storms  of  my  future  life. 

My  orders  were  to  join  my  company  in  Florida,  and 
after  one  day  with  my  family,  then  temporarily  sojourn 
ing  in  Elizabeth,  I  sailed  for  that  Indian-infested  prison 
house  of  the  army.  My  life  in  Washington  had  been  one 
of  luxurious  enjoyment,  with  a  show  of  work  that  made 
me  feel  respectable.  I  had  all  the  diversions  my  nature 
craved — dancing,  dinners,  and  music,  and  a  wide  ac 
quaintance  with  men  and  women  of  the  choicest  society. 

To  show  the  strong  contrast  to  which  officers  of  the 
army  are  subject,  I  will  give  my  experience  in  the  six 
weeks  succeeding  my  departure  from  Washington.  With 
in  ten  days  I  was  put  on  shore  at  Fort  Laud erd ale,  on  the 
Atlantic  coast,  near  the  southern  extremity  of  Florida. 

On  the  way  down  from  St.  Augustine  the  steamer 
called  to  deliver  supplies  for  a  fort,  at  which  Lieutenant 
(now  General)  William  T.  Sherman  was  stationed.  His 
post  was  several  miles  inland,  but  he  came  down  and 
brought  two  fat  turtles  and  some  fine  oysters  as  a  present 
for  our  captain.  I  had  not  met  Sherman  before,  though 
we  belonged  to  the  same  regiment.  At  that  time  he  was 
thin  and  spare,  but  healthy,  cheerful,  loquacious,  active, 
and  communicative  to  an  extraordinary  degree.  Further 
on  I  shall  have  more  to  say  of  this  officer.  He  gave  me 
a  good  idea  of  the  country,  and  described  the  difficulties 
of  campaigning  in  the  swamps  and  jungles,  where  the 
Seminole  Indians  had  so  long  evaded  pursuit.  I  passed 
on,  and  was  soon  enabled  to  verify  all  he  had  told  me. 

It  was  about  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  I  went 
on  shore  at  Fort  Lauderdale,  if  that  could  be  called  a 


164  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

fort  which  consisted  of  a  cluster  of  cane-built  huts  and  a 
few  Indian  wigwams.  I  was  shown  my  quarters,  or  a 
thatched  hut  of  one  room.  The  floor  was  of  unplaned 
boards  laid  on  the  sand.  There  was  nothing  in  the  room 
but  an  old  champagne  basket  which  stood  in  a  corner. 
On  lifting  the  lid  of  the  basket  I  saw  many  hundreds  of 
enormous  cockroaches  resting  in  a  clump  of  wet  straw. 
My  entire  baggage  consisted  in  the  contents  of  a  moder 
ate-sized  trunk,  two  blankets,  an  air  pillow,  and  my 
sword — with  these  I  commenced  housekeeping. 

Being  called  to  breakfast,  I  went  into  another  thatched 
hut,  and  sat  down  on  a  block  of  wood  at  a  table  com 
posed  of  two  unplaned  planks  which  rested  upon  stakes 
driven  into  the  sand.  A  complement  of  tin  plates, 
pewter  spoons,  rusty  knives,  and  two-pronged  forks,  con 
stituted  the  table  setting.  The  breakfast  was  brought  in, 
and  it  consisted  in  muddy  coffee,  without  milk,  brown 
sugar,  hard  bread,  tough  buckwheat  cakes,  and  semi-fluid 
rancid  butter,  held  in  a  cracked  teacup.  The  murky  heat 
of  the  morning  had  taken  away  my  appetite,  and  when  I 
viewed  the  food  before  me,  I  groaned  and  thought  of  the 
rich  soups  and  juicy  meats  on  which  I  had  fed  in  Wash 
ington. 

Colonel  (then  Major)  Thomas  Childs  was  in  command, 
and  he  allowed  me  two  days  to  arrange  myself  before  go 
ing  on  duty.  I  strolled  about  the  post  the  first  day,  talked 
with  the  few  officers  remaining  in  the  garrison,  and  visited 
the  lodges  of  some  sixty  Seminole  Indians  who  had  volun 
tarily  surrendered.  Among  them  were  two  young  chiefs 
and  three  girls  that  seemed  to  me  to  be  more  elegantly 
shaped  and  graceful  in  motion  than  any  human  beings  I 
had  ever  seen.  When  I  entered  the  wigwam  they  all 
stood  up,  and  to  the  few  questions  I  put  them,  through 
an  interpreter,  they  returned  answers  with  an  ease  and 


Fort  Lauderdale.  165 

politeness  which  could  scarcely  be  excelled.  The  old 
negro  interpreter  told  me  that  these  savages  before  they 
surrendered  had  never  seen  a  white  man.  After  an  in 
terview  with  a  party  of  wild  Indian  chiefs  like  these,  Laf 
ayette  declared  that  their  deportment  was  as  polished  as 
that  of  the  old  nobility  of  France. 

My  first  dinner  at  Fort  Lauderdale  differed  from  my 
first  breakfast  by  the  substitution  of  bean  soup  and  salt 
pork  for  buckwheat  cakes,  and  commissary  whiskey  for 
muddy  coffee.  I  was  cautioned  against  plain  river  water, 
which  was  full  of  danger,  but  I  took  it  only  because  it 
was  less  nauseous  than  the  whiskey.  After  dinner  I  re 
tired  to  my  hut,  blew  up  my  air  pillow,  and  lay  down  on 
my  blankets  to  muse  on  my  change  of  condition  and  to 
sleep  if  I  could. 

On  the  east  lay  the  ocean,  and  it  was  pleasant  to  hear 
the  splash  of  the  waves,  net  more  than  two  hundred  feet 
from  me.  On  the  west,  at  an  equal  distance,  ran  a  small 
stream  called  the  Indian  River.  Beyond  the  river  an 
almost  impenetrable  jungle  of  tropical  growth  spread  out. 
It  was  the  abode  of  serpents,  alligators,  frogs,  foxes,  owls, 
wildcats,  and  other  noisy  creatures,  whose  moans,  yelps, 
and  hootings  joined  with  the  hum  and  buzz  of  the  innu 
merable  winged  and  sharded  insects  that  filled  the  whole 
surrounding  atmosphere.  There  was  no  cessation  nor  in 
terlude  in  the  horrid  though  varied  concert.  The  hum  of 
mosquitoes  was  continuous,  the  barking  of  foxes  and 
hooting  of  owls  was  nearly  so,  while  the  piercing  scream 
and  hoarse  croak  of  birds  of  the  night,  hitherto  unknown 
to  me,  were  interjected  at  short  intervals  to  make  the  hel 
lish  fugue  complete.  The  strange  noises  were  not  wholly 
disagreeable,  but  the  army  of  fleas  that  invaded  my  couch 
kept  me  awake,  and  I  thought  of  happier  times. 

Two  days  after  my  arrival  at  Fort  Lauderdale  a  scout- 


1 66  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

ing  party  returned  in  canoes  from  the  interior.  On  going 
to  the  landing,  I  saw  stepping  on  shore  from  a  boat  a 
young  lieutenant  whose  name  was  George  H.  Thomas. 
He  was  afterward  Major-General,  and  he  died  at  San 
Francisco  on  the  28th  of  March,  1870,  while  in  command 
of  the  Department  of  the  Pacific.  As  he  served  nearly 
two  years  under  me  as  my  subaltern,  I  will  describe  him 
according  to  the  impression  he  left  upon  me  after  a  long 
and  varied  intimacy. 

At  the  time  above  referred  to  Thomas  was  twenty-six 
years  old.  His  height  was  exactly  six  feet,  his  form  per 
fectly  symmetrical,  inclining  to  plumpness;  his  com 
plexion  was  blonde,  eyes  deep  blue  and  large.  The  shape 
and  carriage  of  his  head  and  the  expression  of  his  hand 
some  face  corresponded  with  my  idea  of  a  patrician  of 
ancient  Rome.  He  was  a  Virginian  by  birth,  and  at  the 
time  he  entered  the  Military  Academy  he  was  twenty 
years  of  age,  or  four  years  beyond  the  average  of  cadets 
at  the  time  of  admission. 

Of  all  the  hundreds  of  Southern  men  with  whom 
I  have  been  intimate,  he  and  Robert  E.  Lee  were  the 
fairest  in  their  judgment  of  Northern  men.  In  this  con 
clusion  I  make  no  exception. 

Thomas  possessed  an  even  temperament,  and  was  never 
violently  demonstrative.  He  was  equally  calm  when  he 
went  in  and  when  he  came  out  of  the  battle.  He  was 
seldom  much  in  advance  of  the  appointed  time  in  his  ar 
rival  at  the  post  of  duty,  and  I  never  knew  him  to  be 
late,  or  to  appear  impatient  or  in  a  hurry.  All  his  move 
ments  were  deliberate,  and  his  self-possession  was 
supreme,  without  being  arrogant,  and  he  received  and 
gave  orders  with  equal  serenity.  From  the  first  we  were 
companions,  and  my  confidence  in  him  was  at  once  com. 
plete.  He  did  his  duty  and  kept  all  his  appointments 


George  H.  Thomas.  167 

precisely,  and  a  long  acquaintance  with  him  invariably  led 
to  respect  and  affection.  His  deportment  was  dignified, 
and  in  the  presence  of  strangers  and  casual  acquaintances 
he  was  reserved.  Nevertheless  he  was  social,  and  he  pos 
sessed  a  subtle  humor  always  ready  to  show  itself  in 
similes  and  illustrations  of  character  which  I  could  exem 
plify  by  numerous  anecdotes  if  I  were  writing  his  history. 
He  was  an  accomplished  officer,  and  although  his  turn  of 
mind  inclined  him  more  to  science  than  literature,  his 
reading  was  extensive  and  varied.  The  qualities  which 
exalted  him  most  above  his  fellows  were  judgment,  im 
partiality,  and  integrity,  in  all  which  he  had  few  equals 
and  in  the  last  no  superior.  After  the  Rebellion,  when 
he  arrived  in  San  Francisco  to  assume  command  of  the 
Division  of  the  Pacific,  I  met  him,  and  was  shocked  to  ob 
serve  the  effect  which  war  and  change  of  climate  had 
wrought  in  his  countenance.  White  lines  bordered  his 
lips  and  his  eyes  had  lost  their  wonted  fires  ;  and  although 
a  mortal  malady  had  entrenched  itself  in  his  vitals,  he 
made  no  complaint,  but  applied  himself  with  his  custom 
ary  strictness  to  duty.  He  was  at  my  house  to  attend 
the  wedding  of  my  daughter  Caroline,  and  in  my  conver 
sation  with  him  on  that  occasion  I  said :  "  Thomas,  I  no 
tice  no  change  in  our  social  relations  now,  and  when  in 
Florida,  New  Orleans,  and  Charleston  I  used  to  order  you 
to  go  and  drill  the  company."  "  There  is  none,  and  why 
should  there  be  ?  "  Three  days  after  that  conversation  I 
saw  him  in  his  coffin,  and  such  was  the  noble  repose  of 
his  face  that  I  might  have  supposed  he  was  asleep. 

There  is  a  moral  in  the  life  and  services  of  General 
George  H.  Thomas  which  merits  consideration.  He  was 
strictly  conscientious,  he  loved  Virginia,  which  was  his 
birthplace,  and  the  bias  of  his  affections  was  towards  the 
South.  He  was  also  warmly  attached  to  the  Union,  and 


1 68  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

he  espoused  its  cause  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  His 
wife  was  a  noble  Northern  woman,  and  his  deference  for 
her  was  great ;  and  it  is  my  opinion  that  it  was  her  influ 
ence,  more  than  any  other  consideration,  that  determined 
him  to  cast  his  fortunes  with  us.  Had  he  followed  his 
own  inclinations,  he  would  have  joined  the  Confederates, 
and  fought  against  the  North  with  the  same  ability  and 
valor  that  he  displayed  in  our  cause.  His  part  once 
chosen,  he  stood  like  a  tower  for  the  North,  arid  he  has 
been  rewarded  with  a  monument  and  a  lasting  fame. 

Yet  this  great  man's  crowning  success  may  be  said  to 
have  been  accidental.  Not  long  before  the  battle  of 
Nashville,  which  gave  permanence  to  his  renown,  he  was 
accused  of  dilatoriness  and  inefficiency.  The  disadvan 
tageous  reports  were  credited,  and  General-in-Chief  of 
the  army  Halleck  issued  an  order,  and  had  it  printed,  re 
lieving  Thomas  and  directing  General  Schofield  to  assume 
command  of  his  army.  For  some  reason  unknov/n  to  me 
the  order  was  not  sent,  and  Thomas  fought  his  battle, 
which  was  successful.  If  the  order  had  been  carried  into 
effect,  Schofield  might  have  gained  the  victory,  but  the 
name  of  Thomas  and  all  his  merits  would  have  vanished 
at  once  in  oblivion.  I  delight  to  dwell  on  the  memory 
of  my  departed  friend,  and  will  give  specimens  of  his 
humor,  which  made  him  so  pleasant  as  a  companion. 

At  the  time  of  my  arrival  at  Fort  Lauderdale  I  had 
been  long  absent  from  my  regiment,  and  had  never  served 
with  it  except  as  a  file-closer,  consequently  I  came  at 
once  to  the  command  of  a  company  with  all  the  igno 
rance  of  a  novice.  My  first  lieutenant,  Wyse,  was  a  good 
soldier,  but  he  had  the  habit  of  praising  his  own  military 
character,  with  which  he  was  content.  He  was  a  great 
talker  and  excessively  dogmatic  in  his  opinions.  At  a 
later  date,  in  New  Orleans,  he  came  in  from  the  opera,  in 


Anecdotes  of  Thomas.  160 

the  middle  of  the  night,  and  declared  to  me  that  the 
American  people  knew  nothing  about  music !  Thomas, 
who  appreciated  my  situation  and  knew  the  character  of 
my  first  lieutenant,  who  had  charge  of  the  company  be 
fore  my  arrival,  told  me  that  if  I  asked  Wyse  to  teach  me 
anything  about  my  duty  he  would  always  boast  of  having 
been  obliged  to  instruct  me.  Taking  the  hint,  with  pen 
in  hand  I  went  through  every  law,  regulation,  order,  and 
document  relating  to  the  command  of  a  company  of  ar 
tillery,  and  at  the  end  of  a  week  I  required  no  teaching 
from  Mr.  Wyse. 

At  another  time  I  required  something  from  the  Quar 
termaster,  Lieutenant  Schover.  I  told  Thomas  that  I 
had  been  three  times  to  his  office,  which  was  a  tent,  and 
had  not  found  him.  "  You  will  not  find  him  in  his  tent," 
said  Thomas,  "  but  if  you  place  yourself  near  the  trail 
that  passes  between  those  two  palmetto  trees  (the 
tops  of  which  we  could  see  from  where  we  sat)  he  will 
pass  you  within  twenty  minutes."  I  went  immediately 
to  the  place  indicated,  and  sure  enough  Schover  came 
along  at  the  end  of  ten  minutes  ! 

He  told  me  also  how  to  find  another  officer,  who 
chewed  tobacco  and  spat  incessantly.  We  were  at  a 
Southern  post  in  summer.  The  officer  in  question  would 
sit  reading  and  spitting ;  by  turning  his  head  to  the  right 
he  could  spit  in  the  fireplace,  and  to  the  left  out  of  the 
window  —  each  being  several  yards  from  his  chair. 
"  Now,"  said  Thomas,  "  you  may  come  in  at  the  window 
and  follow  up  the  line  of  tobacco  juice  on  the  floor,  or 
you  may  descend  the  chimney  and  trace  from  that,  and 
at  the  intersection  of  the  two  lines  you  will  discover 
B ." 

My  experience  in  Florida  was  short,  but  it  sufficed  to 
show  me  why  the  war  lasted  so  long,  and  why  so  many 

8 


170  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

distinguished  officers  failed  in  its  conduct.  The  thickets  in 
which  the  Indians  could  conceal  themselves  were  almost 
impenetrable  to  our  soldiers.  They  could  subsist  on  shell 
fish,  roots,  and  berries,  and  do  without  fires,  the  smoke  of 
which  would  have  betrayed  them.  In  all  the  battles  and 
skirmishes,  it  is  probable  that  five  times  as  many  of  our 
officers  and  men  were  killed  as  of  the  enemy.  A  friend 
of  mine  who  was  in  the  battle  of  Ochechobee,  in  which 
several  of  our  officers  were  slain,  and  which  lasted  a 
whole  day,  told  me  he  did  not  see  an  Indian,  and  that 
very  few  of  our  people  saw  one,  so  skilfully  were  they 
able  to  hide  themselves. 

The  Florida  war  commenced  on  the  24th  day  of  De 
cember,  1835,  at  which  date  Major  Dade's  whole  com 
mand  of  102  were  massacred,  with  the  exception  of  one 
man,  near  Tampa  Bay.  It  ended  in  about  twelve  years — 
not  by  our  success  in  conflicts,  but  by  the  treason  of  the 
Indians  themselves,  and  by  the  act  of  General  Jessup,  who 
prevailed  on  Osceola  and  about  80  of  his  braves  to  come 
in  under  a  flag  of  truce  and  treat  for  peace.  The  terms 
submitted  were  not  accepted  by  the  red  men,  and  Jessup 
detained  the  whole  party  as  prisoners  of  war.  Osceola 
was  a  splendid  chief,  but  he  could  not  bear  captivity,  and 
at  the  end  of  a  few  months  he  died  of  a  broken  heart. 

Fortunately  for  me,  the  term  of  service  of  my  company 
in  Florida  expired  in  January,  1842,  and  I  was  ordered 
to  New  Orleans,  via  Tampa  Bay. 

General  Worth,  who  was  in  command,  had  his  head 
quarters  at  that  place,  and  he  received  me  with  the  ut 
most  cordiality.  I  was  at  death's  door  from  the  effect  of 
drinking  the  water  of  the  everglades  without  whiskey. 
The  volunteer  doctor  who  had  attended  me  declared  that  I 
could  not  recover,  and  if  I  had  continued  the  remedies  he 
prescribed  his  prophecy  would  have  been  verified.  The 


General  Gaines. 


171 


chief  of  the  medical  staff  at  headquarters  was  Surgeon 
Harney,  brother  to  the  famous  General  William  Harney. 
He  saw  me,  and  compounded  a  potion  which  I  took  in 
the  evening  during  a  lucid  interval  (for  I  was  half  the  time 
out  of  my  head  with  the  delirium  of  fever),  and  the  next 
morning  I  was  well.  I  sailed  with  my  company  for  New 
Orleans,  and  assumed  command  of  the  barracks  below 
that  city  early  in  February,  1842. 

Major-General  Edmund  Pendleton  Gaines  was  in  com 
mand  of  the  Western  Department,  with  headquarters  in 
the  city  of  New  Orleans.  When  I  called  to  pay  my  re 
spects  to  him,  he  surprised  me  by  a  cordial  greeting, 
which  was  the  reverse  of  what  I  had  anticipated.  He 
went  so  far  as  to  offer  to  take  me  on  an  extensive  tour  of 
inspection  with  him,  which  I  was  obliged  to  decline.  Be 
tween  him  and  my  former  chief,  Scott,  there  was  a  feud 
as  fierce  as  ever  raged  between  military  commanders. 

Three  years  previous,  while  I  was  aide  to  the  latter,  I 
was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain  and  assistant  adju 
tant-general,  and  ordered  to  report  to  General  Gaines  at 
St.  Louis  as  chief  of  his  military  staff.  He  refused  to  re 
ceive  me,  and  declared  that  he  would  as  soon  take  a  wife 
at  the  dictation  of  other  men  as  to  take  his  chief  of  staff. 
He  had  no  confidence  in  my  former  friends,  nor  in  the  men 
who  had  sent  me  to  him.  We  had  three  interviews.  The 
first  was  short  and  angry  on  his  part,  although  he  de 
clared  that  he  had  heard  nothing  objectionable  to  me. 
He  intended  to  have  Captain  McCall  for  his  chief  of  staff, 
or  he  would  get  along  with  his  present  assistants.  Our 
two  following  interviews  were  friendly,  and  lasted  over  an 
hour  each.  Half  the  time  was  devoted  to  the  explana 
tion  of  a  system  of  railroads  which  he  had  devised,  and 
the  plan  of  which  he  showed  me.  He  had  traced  nearly 
all  the  trunk  lines,  as  they  now  exist,  east  of  the  Missis- 


172  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

sippi  and  many  on  the  west  of  that  river.  His  system 
was  distinguished  by  more  roads  terminating  at  Mem 
phis,  Tennessee,  than  at  St.  Louis  and  Chicago  together. 
The  other  half  the  time  was  mostly  spent  in  abusing  my 
former  chief.  As  I  had  never  heard  the  name  of  Gaines 
mentioned  in  the  presence  of  Scott  that  it  did  not  pro- 
voke  an  expression  of  contempt,  I  was  willing  to  listen 
to  what  the  accused  could  say. 

The  scorn  on  both  sides  appeared  about  equal,  but 
Scott  vastly  excelled  in  sententious  vilification — such  as 
"  Gaines  is  only  fit  to  be  a  dry  nurse  in  a  lying-in  hospi 
tal."  "  Superannuated  old  martinet."  "  Imbecile  com 
mander,"  etc.,  etc.  Referring  to  Gaines's  efforts  to  ap 
pear  learned  in  the  French  language,  he  told  me  he  once 
observed  him  wrestling  with  the  phrase,  "  Je  ne  sais 
quoi,"  and  he  thought  he  was  describing  a  "  Genesee 
squaw." 

Gaines's  manner  of  speaking  of  his  enemy  was  earnest 
and  solemn.  He  belittled  him  as  much  as  he  could,  and 
said  Scott's  character  was  chiefly  composed  of  puerilities, 
and  that  he  was  a  vain  pretender.  There  was  a  lurid  air 
of  satisfaction  in  the  old  gentleman's  face  when  he  said, 
"  In  our  quarrel  about  rank,  I  established  the  superiority 
of  mine,  and  had  my  name  placed  above  that  of  Scott  on 
the  Army  Register." 

My  opinion  of  General  Gaines  was  necessarily  confused 
before  we  met.  After  seeing  and  hearing  him,  I  con 
cluded  that  he  was  equally  as  vain  as  General  Scott,  but 
that  his  vanity  displayed  itself  in  a  different  way.  He 
boasted  continually  of  his  abstemiousness  and  hardihood, 
that  he  never  used  an  umbrella,  that  when  he  was  ailing 
he  cured  himself  without  the  aid  of  drugs,  that  he  could 
tire  young  men  in  walking,  etc.,  etc.  His  habits  were 
apparent  in.  his  looks.  He  was  tall,  thin,  and  his  face 


Ordered  to  Charleston.  173 

was  covered  with  fine  wrinkles.  His  eye  was  sparkling 
and  clear,  and  his  hair,  which  was  snow-white,  stood  so 
thick  that  his  scalp  could  nowhere  be  seen.  His  whole 
appearance  was  strikingly  similar  to  that  of  many  old 
Frenchmen  of  high  rank  that  I  have  since  seen,  and  his 
manners  had  an  equal  polish. 

These  two  men  were  good  citizens  and  excellent  offi 
cers,  but  their  rivalry  had  been  a  source  of  worry  to  both 
during  forty  years.  Notwithstanding  I  had  so  often  wit 
nessed  their  sweltered  venom  and  contumelious  asper 
sions,  they  never  influenced  my  judgment  of  the  merits 
of  either.  The  same  ebullitions  are  invariably  disclosed 
by  intimacy  with  men  who  contend  for  the  same  prize, 
and  they  affect  me  no  more  than  the  steam  that  rises  from 
a  heated  cauldron. 

As  I  had  formed  pleasant  social  relations  in  New  Or 
leans,  it  was  with  regret  that  I  received  orders,  in  the 
month  of  June,  to  transfer  my  company  by  sea  to  Fort 
Moultrie,  Charleston  Harbor.  We  sailed  the  1st  of  July, 
and,  after  lying  becalmed  16  days  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
we  landed  the  26th  in  Charleston  and  proceeded  to  Sulli 
van's  Island.  The  heat  was  so  oppressive  on  the  voyage 
that  we  kept  in  our  berths  or  in  the  cabin  during  the  day, 
and  walked  the  deck  at  night.  One  morning  at  about 
two  o'clock,  while  I  was  in  the  forepart  of  the  ship  look 
ing  out,  I  fancied  I  saw  a  mountain  ahead.  I  found  the 
mate,  and  told  him  I  had  seen  something  which  might  be 
land.  He  jumped  forward  and  shrieked  out,  "  Helm  hard 
a-port !  "  The  vessel  sheered  around  without  striking,  and 
it  appeared  we  were  less  than  two  cables'  length  from  the 
island  of  Cuba. 

Under  the  old  regime,  to  such  as  enjoyed  their  con 
fidence,  the  hospitality  of  the  South  Carolinians  was 
supremely  attractive.  My  initiation  to  it  was  due  to  an 


i/4  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

event,  the  relation  of  which  recalls  a  condition  of  things 
now  forever  past. 

One  day,  when  my  wife  found  it  difficult  to  hire  a  cook, 
I  went  up  to  Charleston  and  bought  a  female  slave.  As 
she  stood  upon  a  block  I  bid  her  off.  Then  I  went  to 
a  desk  and  received  a  bill  of  sale,  "  For  one  wench,  aged 
23  years,  price  $350."  Having  paid  forthe  wench,  I  told 
her  to  get  her  trunk  and  come  with  me.  She  had  neither 
trunk  nor  parcel,  and  was  alone.  All  she  possessed  she 
had  on,  which  was  a  hickory  shirt  and  a  linsey-woolsey 
gown  ;  and  yet  she  was  cheerful,  and  we  found  her  a  good 
servant.  I  had  already  experienced  the  pride  of  owner 
ship  in  its  various  gradations,  as  the  proprietor  of  a  dog, 
a  horse,  and  a  bit  of  land  ;  but  it  was  only  when  I  could 
call  a  human  being  my  property  that  I  enjoyed  the  self- 
importance  of  a  real  capitalist.  No  sooner  was  my  pur 
chase  known,  than  I  was  admitted  to  the  society  of 
Charleston  with  a  stamp  of  merit  above  my  value.  I 
visited  the  plantations  in  winter,  and  in  the  warm  season 
many  families  established  themselves  on  Sullivan's  Island. 
In  their  companionship  I  recognized  the  truth  of  what 
Prince  Murat  said  of  the  Charleston  society.  After  he 
had  seen  nearly  all  the  courts  of  Europe  he  found 
by  comparison  that  the  men  of  South  Carolina  were 
the  most  aristocratic,  and  the  women  the  most  grace 
ful. 

The  peculiar  charm  of  the  South  Carolinians  was  de 
rived  from  an  unusual  coalition  of  races.  The  blood  of 
the  Huguenots  had  mixed  with  that  of  the  Cava 
liers  of  England.  In  Canada  and  Louisiana  it  is 
different.  There  the  two  nationalities  remain  distinct, 
for  the  French  in  habits  and  association  are  the  most 
insular  of  all  the  Christian  communities.  The  Legrees, 
the  De  Saussures,  the  Porchers,  the  d'lons,  the  Rhetts,  the 


South  Carolina  Society.  175 

Izzards,  the  Petigrews,  the  Rutledges,  the  Prestons,  the 
Butlers,  the  Pinckneys,  the  Pringles,  the  Haynes,  the 
Northrops,  the  Harveys,  and  the  Calhouns  all  joined  in 
social  amity,  and  among  them  were  brave  men  of  the 
highest  refinement  and  almost  incomparable  eloquence. 
The  women  exalted  the  noble  accomplishments  of  the 
men  by  many  enchanting  qualities.  In  form  they  were 
unrivalled,  and  the  beauty  of  their  hands  and  feet  sur 
passed  the  proofs  of  my  observation  in  all  my  journeys. 
In  such  a  society  I  should  have  been  a  groveller  if  I  had 
not  secured  a  voucher  of  eternal  credit,  which  I  found  in 
the  friendship  of  a  young  lady  to  whom  I  was  introduced, 
while  walking  on  the  beach  of  Sullivan's  Island.  This 
beautiful  lady  was  endowed  with  rarest  gifts ;  and  in  her 
person  and  character  all  the  attributes  which  enabled 
her  sisters  of  the  sunny  land,  where  she  inherited  life, 
to  ensorcillize  and  enslave  the  ruder  sex,  cohered.  At 
the  time  to  which  I  refer,  I  was  bound  by  the  holy  vows 
of  matrimony  to  a  woman  of  transcendent  worth,  and 
thus  being  hedged  in,  I  addressed  no  discourse  to  the 
fore-named  maiden  which  it  would  have  distressed  her 
mother  to  witness.  The  many  succeeding  years  in  which 
it  was  my  happy  fortune  to  enjoy  her  friendship  served 
always  to  enhance  my  estimate  of  the  female  character ; 
and  so  deep  were  the  impressions  left  in  my  memory  by 
her  various  excellence,  that  I  fancy  death  will  have  no 
power  to  erase  them,  and  that,  should  my  sins  be  for 
given,  I  shall  be  permitted  to  meet  her  again  in  the  realms 
beyond  the  stars. 

I  could  relate  numerous  other  incidents  and  circum 
stances  that  tended  to  establish  my  attachment  to  the 
South  Carolinians  and  to  make  me  forget  their  follies  and 
regret  their  misfortunes.  I  had  a  son  born  on  Sulli 
van's  Island,  whose  early  promise  and  final  success  have 


176  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

cheered  me,  and  I  was  associated  there  on  duty  with  a 
group  of  young  officers  a  larger  proportion  of  whose 
names  was  destined  to  be  distinguished  than  could  have 
been  found  among  an  equal  number  elsewhere.  I  will 
designate  them  by  the  ranks  they  finally  achieved. 

There  were  General  W.  T.  Sherman,  now  commanding 
the  United  States  army ;  Lieutenant-General  Braxton 
Bragg,  late  Confederate  States  army ;  Major-General 
George  H.  Thomas,  who  was  so  highly  renowned  ;  Major- 
General  John  F.  Reynolds,  Major-General  Thomas  W. 
Sherman,  Major-General  S.  Van  Vleit,  General  E.  D. 
Keyes ;  General  A.  C.  Myers,  late  Quartermaster-General 
Confederate  States  army;  Colonel  Henry  B.  Judd, 
Colonel  Jasper  Stewart,  Lieutenants  Churchill,  Field, 
Ayers,  and  Austin.  All  the  above-named  officers  served 
together  above  a  year,  with  the  exception  of  Reynolds, 
who  was  with  us  a  shorter  time. 

The  commanding  officer  at  first  was  Brigadier-General 
W.  K.  Armistead,  who  about  the  year  1820  surveyed  the 
sand-spit  at  the  mouth  of  Hampton  Roads,  and  traced 
the  ground  plan  of  the  great  Fortress  Monroe.  The 
second  commanding  officer  was  Brigadier-General  Will 
iam  Gates,  who  was  one  of  the  earliest  graduates  of  the 
West  Point  Military  Academy.  Captain  (afterwards 
Colonel)  Martin  Burke  was  always  second  in  command, 
and  he  alone  was  not  a  graduate  of  the  Military  Acad 
emy. 

The  fate  of  many  of  those  public  servants  illustrates 
the  famous  line  of  Gray, 

"  The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave." 

Bragg  fell  dead  in  Texas  from  heart  disease.  George 
H.  Thomas  died  suddenly  in  San  Francisco  from  fatty 
degeneration  of  the  heart  contracted  from  hard  service  in 


W.   T.  Sherman.  177 

unwholesome  climates.  Reynolds  was  killed  at  Gettys 
burg.  T.  W.  Sherman  lost  a  leg  at  Port  Hudson. 
Churchill  died  of  cholera  while  on  duty  at  Point  Isabel, 
Texas.  Ayers  was  killed  at  Molino  del  Rey,  Mexico,  and 
Field  was  swept  overboard,  with  several  other  officers 
and  men,  from  the  steamer  San  Francisco  while  en  route 
with  the  Third  Regiment  of  Artillery  from  New  York  to 
San  Francisco.  Martin  Burke  lived  the  full  term  of 
human  life,  and  died  within  this  year  (1882)  at  the  nomi 
nal  age  of  8 1,  though  he  must  have  been  not  less  than  91 
years  old. 

Let  us  glance  back  through  the  vista  of  years  and 
events  and  contemplate  the  characteristics  of  some  of  the 
officers  I  have  named.  W.  T.  Sherman,  with  whom  my 
cordial  relations  have  never  known  abatement,  was  ambi 
tious  without  asperity,  and  surprisingly  active  and  always 
attentive  to  duty.  In  one  respect  he  has  since  undergone 
an  anomalous  change,  for  then  his  style  of  speaking  and 
writing  was  plain  and  succinct;  now  it  is  ornate  and  so 
expansive  as  to  embrace  nearly  the  whole  range  of  human 
thought.  From  time  to  time  he  undertook  to  reform  my 
speech,  and  he  would  often  criticise  my  conduct,  which  I 
prove  as  follows : 

I  had  an  ill-favored  yellow  pup  named  Carlo  that  would 
follow  me  to  the  parade  ground  from  where  I  lived  out 
side  the  fort.  Wishing  to  be  rid  of  the  beast,  I  called 
my  company  clerk  and  said  :  "  Waterbury,  conduct  this 
quadruped  to  my  dwelling."  Sherman  thought  my  style 
too  pompous.  I  asked  him  what  he  would  have  said.  He 
replied  :  "  I  would  have  said  :  '  Waterbury,  take  this  dog 
down  to  my  house.'  '  As  to  my  conduct :  I  had  in  my 
company  a  stunted,  crooked,  cross-grained  soldier,  whose 
name  was  Jim  Hill.  Hill  spent  above  half  the  time  in 
the  guard-house,  and  on  parade  his  head  was  always  seen 


178  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

protruding  six  or  eight  inches  in  front  of  the  line,  and  all 
my  efforts  to  straighten  the  wretch  had  been  futile. 
Sherman  questioned  my  skill  as  a  drill  master,  and  one 
day  I  asked  him  to  drill  my  company  and  try  his  hand  on 
the  scalawag.  He  consented,  and  I  went  out  to  look  on. 
Hill's  visage  wore  an  unusually  perverse  aspect  that 
morning,  and  I  was  encouraged.  Sherman  began  upon 
him  at  once  with  reproofs  and  adjurations,  to  which  the 
fellow  paid  no  heed.  At  last,  his  patience  being  ex 
hausted,  Sherman,  with  angry  haste,  proceeded  to  the 
rear  of  the  company,  and  having  first  with  a  tremendous 
thrust  sunk  his  sword  into  the  sand  nearly  to  the  hilt,  he 
took  hold  of  Jim's  shoulders  with  his  knee  against 
his  back,  and  tried  his  utmost  to  rectify  the  individual  in 
question.  Hill's  strength  was  enormous,  and  instead  of 
yielding  he  strove  in  a  contrary  direction,  and  absolute 
ly  gained  two  inches  in  crookedness,  which  he  retained 
till  the  drill  was  ended.  Sherman's  face  acknowledged 
defeat.  I  was  calm. 

Of  Bragg  I  will  not  say  much.  He  was  equally  as  am 
bitious  as  W.  T.  Sherman,  but  being  of  a  saturnine  dis 
position  and  morbid  temperament,  his  ambition  was  of 
the  vitriolic  kind.  He  could  see  nothing  bad  in  the  South 
and  little  good  in  the  North,  although  he  was  disposed  to 
smile  on  his  satellites  and  sycophants  whencesoever  they 
came.  He  was  intelligent,  and  the  exact  performance  of 
all  his  military  duties  added  force  fo  his  pernicious  influ 
ence.  As  I  was  not  disposed  to  concede  to  his  intolerant 
sectionalism,  nor  to  be  influenced  by  his  dictatorial  utter 
ances,  our  social  relations  could  not  long  remain  harmo 
nious.  At  last,  upon  a  matter  of  discipline  which  arose 
between  me  and  Lieutenant  Churchill,  whose  cause 
Bragg  espoused  against  his  own  theories,  and  in  opposi 
tion  to  the  advice  of  Captain  Martin  Burke,  Bragg  and  I 


Thomas  and  Other  Officers.  179 

quarrelled  and  ceased  forever  afterwards  to  speak  with 
one  another. 

This  book  is  not  to  define  my  enemies,  and  I  leave 
Bragg  to  those  who  regard  him  with  more  favor  than 
I  do. 

The  character  of  General  George  H.  Thomas  I  have 
already  drawn.  In  the  fiery  throng  to  which  I  allude  he 
was  always  calm.  His  nature  was  not  only  absolutely 
just,  but  it  was  also  highly  sympathetic  and  genial,  and 
neither  malice  nor  envy  could  question  his  motives.  The 
happiest  illusions  of  my  youth  and  the  most  joyous  en 
counters  of  my  life  have  left  no  more  benignant  traces  in 
my  memory  than  my  associations  with  George  H.  Thomas 
while  I  was  his  direct  commanding  officer. 

Van  Vleit  and  Reynolds  only  remained  with  us  two  or 
three  months,  but  they  were  always  our  intimate  asso 
ciates.  The  former  was  a  man  of  the  world,  and  after 
wards  stood  high  in  the  Quartermaster's  Department; 
and  the  latter  was  one  of  our  most  gallant  officers,  and  he 
was  as  amiable  as  he  was  brave.  The  next  in  the  list  was 
a  man  of  marked  peculiarities,  and  of  him  I  will  speak 
more  at  length. 

Major-General  Thomas  W.  Sherman  was  a  native  of 
Rhode  Island,  and  the  traits  of  his  character  denoted  a 
descent  from  Roger  Williams.  He  was  dyspeptic  and  fear 
less,  and  he  would  revolve  his  New  England  ideas  regard 
less  of  his  company.  While  serving  in  Florida  he  man 
aged  to  make  himself  unpopular,  and  when  the  order 
came  to  me  at  New  Orleans  assigning  him  to  my  com 
pany  of  artillery  he  was  personally  unknown  to  me.  My 
messmates  volunteered  to  inform  me  that  I  should  find  in 
him  a  hard  case  for  a  "  sub."  I  questioned  them  in  re 
gard  to  his  characteristics,  and  concluded  from  the  replies 
that  Sherman  was  hated  because  he  was  faithful  to  the 


i8o  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

place  of  his  birth.  Two  days  later  an  orderly  came  in 
while  we  were  at  the  dinner  table  to  say  that  Sherman 
was  at  the  gate  and  desired  to  see  me.  I  dropped  my 
knife  and  fork  and  ran  with  outstretched  hands  to  greet 
him.  I  fetched  him  to  the  table,  called  for  okra  soup 
and  an  extra  glass,  and  while  he  ate  and  drank  I  exerted 
myself  to  convince  him  that  I  was  delighted  with  the 
prospect  of  having  him  and  George  H.  Thomas  for  my 
subalterns  at  the  same  time.  He  only  came  for  a  call, 
and  was  to  join  me  at  Charleston.  I  went  with  him  to 
the  carriage  that  was  waiting  at  the  gate,  and  when  I 
bade  him  good-bye  a  looker-on  would  have  supposed  two 
dear  friends  were  parting. 

Sherman  joined  me  at  Fort  Moultrie  shortly  after  my 
arrival  there  with  my  company,  and  entered  upon  his 
duties.  Myers  had  beforehand  vouchsafed  his  opinions 
of  my  sub.,  and  advised  me  not  to  commit  myself  too 
far  with  such  a  refractory  individual.  Time  wore  on,  and 
Sherman,  as  soon  as  he  discovered  that  my  opinion  of  him 
had  not  been  forestalled,  became  communicative,  and  I 
found  him  a  man  of  great  intelligence  and  sterling  merit. 
Myers,  who  lived  outside  the  Fort  by  himself,  by  one  of 
those  slippery  turns  to  which  men  are  subject,  dismissed 
his  prejudice  against  Sherman,  invited  him  to  mess  at  his 
table,  and  the  two  former  repugnants  fed  and  glozed  to 
gether  in  loving  fraternity. 

Colonel  Judd  was  a  man  of  humor  and  something  of  a 
martinet.  The  company  he  commanded  in  the  absence 
of  its  captain  was  always  in  perfect  order.  He  was  fond 
of  long  discussions,  and  often  complained  that  his  audi 
tors  did  not  understand  him.  When  not  arguing  he 
would  sometimes  sing  the  song  of  the  "  Pizen  sarpi-ent" 
Judd  was  popular  with  the  officers  and  greatly  beloved  by 
his  men,  in  spite  of  his  severe  discipline.  He  was  very 


Lieuts.  Field,  Churchill,  and  Ayers.  181 

useful  in  the  civil  war,  though  not  much  in  the  field,  owing 
to  the  delicacy  of  his  health.  He  married  a  charming 
South  Carolina  lady,  by  whom  he  had  no  children,  and  al 
though  he  and  she  are  uncommonly  loquacious,  it  ap 
peared  to  me,  when  I  saw  them  at  Nice,  about  the  year 
1873,  that  they  were  quite  content  and  happy  with  one 
another. 

Lieutenant  Field  was  called  "  the  Parson"  on  account 
of  the  plainness  and  sobriety  of  his  appearance  ;  but  the 
parson,  when  angry,  would  swear.  He  was  tall  and  lank 
as  a  dried  bean-pod,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  years 
was  almost  entirely  bald.  He  played  the  lady's  man,  and 
spent  money  to  dress  fine,  but  to  what  effect  I  did  not  en 
quire.  He  never  gave  offence,  and  when  he  was  drowned 
it  was  agreed  in  the  regiment  that  a  handsomer  man  might 
have  been  less  regretted. 

Lieutenants  Churchill  and  Ayers,  both  of  whom  were 
untimely  cut  off  by  death,  were  among  the  most  promis 
ing  officers  of  our  garrison.  Churchill,  in  form  and  mar 
tial  port,  was  perhaps  the  most  strikingly  handsome  youth 
amongst  us.  He  was  also  brilliant  and  accomplished  in 
mind,  but  he  had  a  defect  not  unusual  with  handsome 
men,  and  even  girls,  which  was  self-consciousness.  At 
New  Orleans,  and  for  a  while  after  we  came  to  Charles 
ton,  I  was  warmly  attached  to  Churchill,  and  we  were 
jocularly  intimate.  When  he  fell  under  Bragg's  influence, 
he  and  I  for  a  while  separated.  At  the  time  we  were 
happy  together,  he  went  one  day  to  call  on  the  young 
lady  of  whom  I  have  already  spoken  in  admiring  terms, 
and  from  her  he  suffered  a  harsh  rebuke.  Knowing  my 
friendship  for  her  he  came  to  tell  me  what  had  happened 
to  him,  and  to  warn  me  of  the  dangers  to  which  I  might 
unconsciously  expose  myself.  Churchill  had  beautiful 
hands,  and  he  was  careful  to  wear  conspicuous  sleeve 


1 82  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

buttons,  and  he  would  look  at  his  hands  and  their  fit 
tings  while  apparently  regarding  another  object. 

"  I  went,"  said  he,  "  to  call  on   Miss  ,    and  after 

talking  with  her  a  while,  I  took  hold  of  that  long  ribbon 
with  which  she  confined  her  hair,  and  while  I  examined 
its  texture,  I  continued  to  talk  to  her  a  minute  or  two 
without  looking  up.  When  I  did  look  up  I  fancied  I 
saw  two  balls  of  fire  coming  from  her  eyes  against  my 
head.  I  was  confounded,  and  got  away  as  soon  as  I 
could."  He  advised  me  to  be  careful,  and  asked  me 
what  I  thought  of  her  conduct  towards  him.  I  replied 
that  I  admired  her  spirit  and  was  astonished  at  his 
temerity.  "Your  telling  me  what  you  did,"  said  I,  "has 
covered  me  all  over  with  goose-flesh.  If  I  had  sought 
the  notice  of  a  flax  wench,  I  would  have  proceeded  with 
more  respect  than  you  showed  to  that  nonpareil  of 
maidens.  When  you  take  hold  of  any  portion  of  a  lady's 
dress  before  you  have  convinced  her  that  you  admire 
everything  she  wears,  you  commit  a  breach  of  gallantry 
for  which  I  can  imagine  neither  justification  nor  remedy." 

There  was  one  other  officer  (and  he  was  the  only  one 
at  Fort  Moultrie  who  was  not  a  West  Pointer)  with  whom 
my  associations  were  so  friendly  that  I  feel  disposed  to 
describe  his  peculiar  traits  of  character  at  some  length. 
The  name  of  the  officer  to  whom  I  refer  was  Captain, 
afterwards  Colonel,  Martin  Burke,  who  deceased  April 
24,  in  the  year  1882.  The  New  York  Graphic  noticed 
his  death,  with  details  of  his  history,  and  gave  his  portrait, 
which  I  could  easily  recognize  after  an  absence  of  many 
years.  Nominally,  when  he  died,  his  age  was  81,  but 
actually  I  doubt  if  it  was  less  than  90.  The  senior  officers, 
when  I  joined  the  army,  spoke  of  Burke  as  an  "  oldish 
man "  at  the  date  of  his  first  commission,  which  was 
1820.  It  was  reported  that  before  entering  the  service  he 


Captain  Martin  Burke.  183 

had  failed  in  or  become  weary  of  some  kind  of  business 
or  trade,  when  by  good  fortune  he  gained  a  commission 
of  second  lieutenant  in  the  artillery.  General  Scott, 
when  he  sought  to  enforce  discipline  in  sport  or  serious 
ness,  seldom  failed  to  cite  the  name  of  Martin  Burke  as  a 
supreme  exemplar  of  obedience.  "  If,"  said  he,  "I  were 
to  order  Captain  Burke  to  bring  me  the  head  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  he  would  proceed  to  exe 
cute  the  order  with  as  much  unconcern  as  he  would  send 
a  drunken  soldier  to  the  guard-house."  The  order  of  his 
commanding  officer  had  the  effect  to  clear  the  mind  of 
Captain  Martin  Burke  of  all  fears  and  apprehensions,  and 
if  directed  by  his  chief  to  lead  a  forlorn  hope,  or  to  kill  a 
citizen,  not  a  nerve  of  his  body  would  have  moved.  On 
the  other  hand  his  dread  of  civil  tribunals  and  the  man 
dates  of  courts  overwhelmed  him.  Once  when  he  was 
summoned  as  a  witness  in  a  simple  cause  which  affected 
him  not,  he  would  fain  have  fled  the  jurisdiction.  When 
outside  the  chain  of  sentinels  he  always  had  a  scared  look, 
and  he  regarded  a  camp  or  fort  as  a  refuge  of  sweet  re 
pose  and  security.  I  never  learned  what  incident  or  cir 
cumstance  of  his  early  career  it  was  that  filled  his  whole 
nature  with  such  a  terror  and  repugnance  to  the  tyranny, 
injustice,  corruption,  bickering,  lying,  cheating,  swindling, 
slandering,  obduracy,  cruelty,  cunning,  deceit,  perjury, 
indecency,  quackery,  litigation,  snobbishness  and  other 
nameless  deviltries  of  civil  society,  but  certain  it  is  that 
nothing  short  of  an  order  from  his  commanding  officer,  or 
other  supreme  necessity  ever  kept  him  away  from  the 
sound  of  a  drum  over-night. 

I  apprehend  that  Captain  Burke's  early  education  had 
been  neglected.  I  never  saw  him  reading  any  other  books 
than  tactics,  Army  Regulations,  and  a  work  on  chess, 
though  he  may  have  read  others  unknown  to  me.  He 


1 84  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

could  never  learn  correctly  the  tactics  actually  in  vogue, 
for  the  reason  that  he  at  first  studied  some  antique 
system,  probably  that  of  Baron  Steuben,  and  the 
knowledge  thus  acquired  he  always  afterwards  jumbled 
with  the  succeeding  prescribed  commands.  Orthography 
occupied  his  attention,  though  he  sometimes  took  pains 
to  be  wrong  in  his  spelling.  Being  second  in  command  at 
the  post,  he  was  the  President  of  the  Council  of  Admin 
istration,  which  convened  at  muster  days  every  two 
months  to  regulate  sutler's  accounts  and  other  matters. 
At  one  council  when  I  was  a  member,  the  record,  being 
complete,  was  signed  as  usual,  "  Martin  Burke,  Captain 
3d  Artillery,  President  of  Council,"  and  deposited  at 
headquarters.  The  following  morning  I  chanced  to 
notice  Captain  Burke  sitting  on  a  bench,  and  that  he 
glanced  frequently  at  the  door  of  the  adjutant's  office. 
After  a  while  Adjutant  Austin  left  and  passed  out  of  the 
fort.  Burke  then  entered  the  office  furtively,  and  after 
five  minutes  withdrew  to  his  own  quarters.  As  I  fancied 
he  had  thought  of  some  change  he  wished  to  make  in  the 
Record  of  the  Council,  I  went  in,  and  upon  examination 
found  that  he  had  added  another  /  to  the  last  word  of  his 
title,  so  as  to  make  it  read:  "Martin  Burke,  Captain  $d 
Artillery,  President  of  Councill." 

Whenever  the  captain  heard  an  expression  or  idea  that 
struck  his  fancy  forcibly,  it  was  his  invariable  habit  to 
repeat  it  to  himself  afterwards.  He  and  I  were  at  lunch 
in  a  Charleston  restaurant,  and  seeing  the  standard  plate  of 
smelts  on  the  table,  I  said,  "  He  was  a  brave  man  who  first 
ate  these  monsters  of  the  deep."  Burke  left  before  me,  and 
having  to  turn  a  corner  and  come  near  the  window  where  I 
sat,  I  heard  him  mumbling  to  himself,  "  monsters  of  the  deep, 
monsters  of  the  deep."  At  another  time  after  Generals 
Scott  and  Wool  had  paid  us  official  visits,  some  of  the 


Burke9 s  Walk.  185 

officers  remarked  upon  the  fondness  of  those  gentlemen 
for  display  and  adulation.  I  turned  to  Burke  and  said, 
"Those  men  live  on  fame,  but  we  in  this  fort  are  obliged 
to  content  ourselves  with  pork  and  beans."  When  we 
had  all  separated,  I  could  hear  him  at  a  distance  say,  "  live 
on  fame,"  "  live  on  fame,"  "pork  and  beans,"  "pork  and 
beans."  Thus  it  was  that  meditation  supplied  the  famous 
captain  with  an  inexhaustible  source  of  happiness,  which 
preserved  his  body  and  mind  in  health  and  contentment. 

Curiosity  will  be  awakened  by  what  I  have  related  above 
of  this  worthy  man  and  faithful  public  servant,  to  know 
how  he  looked  and  what  was  the  fashion  of  his  dress. 

Nature  had  furnished  Martin  Burke  with  a  capacious 
chest  and  well-shaped  limbs.  He  had  contracted  the 
habit  of  bending  forward  at  the  hips,  though  his  back  was 
straight  and  broad,  and  yet  his  head  drooped  a  trifle,  es 
pecially  when  he  walked  alone  on  the  ramparts,  as  he  did 
almost  every  day,  dressed  in  a  calico  morning  gown  that 
flopped  over  his  hands  as  he  clasped  them  behind  him. 
The  length  of  his  walk  was  thirty  paces,  and  at  one  end, 
at  about  every  third  turn,  he  would  raise  his  head  and 
look  out  upon  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  At  the  other  end  he 
would  fret  his  brow  and  gaze  inland,  upon  the  region 
where  Poe  places  the  scene  of  the  Gold  Bug.  No  man 
ever  divined  the  subject  of  the  captain's  cogitations 
during  these  diurnal  promenades.  His  complexion  was 
brownish,  his  face  full,  nose  ordinary,  forehead  high  and 
pyramidal.  His  mouth  was  of  the  medium  size,  but  as  it 
showed  no  lips  it  appeared  much  like  a  slit  in  a  curved 
surface  with  the  corners  tending  downward.  From  them, 
when  Martin  was  excited,  rills  of  tobacco  juice  could  be 
seen  to  flow,  often  copiously.  As  his  vital  organs  were 
strong  and  healthy,  his  voice  was  clear  and  amazingly 
sonorous.  The  following  commands,  all  obsolete,  he  would 


1 86  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

vociferate  in  clarion  tones:  "  Form  column  of  attack  !" 
instead  of  double  column  on  centre.  "  Draw  ramrod  !"  in 
stead  of  draw  rammer.  "  Load  by  twelve  commands  !  " 
instead  of  load  in  twelve  times.  When  the  change  from 
flint  to  percussion  locks  was  accomplished,  and  Scott's 
tactics  had  been  superseded,  Burke's  diction  on  the  drill 
ground  became  still  more  confused.  Still  the  earnest  old 
soldier  maintained  his  confidence,  delivered  his  cullings 
from  many  systems  of  tactics  in  a  voice  which  for  dis 
tinctness,  melody,  and  force  was  not  surpassed  in  the 
whole  army. 

His  dress  when  on  duty  was  prescribed  by  the  regula 
tions,  but  still  there  crept  in  certain  peculiarities  of  the 
wearer.  The  material  and  pattern  of  his  shoes  never 
varied  during  all  the  years  I  knew  him,  and  were  unlike 
any  others.  He  also  had  a  drab  vest  with  bright  buttons 
and  standing  collar  that  he  wore  at  home  and  abroad,  and 
which  seemed  of  perpetual  duration.  To  a  buttonhole 
of  that  vest  a  thong  of  buckskin  was  fastened  to  hold  a 
large,  plump  silver  watch,  that  marked  the  exact  time  of 
tattoo,  reveille,  and  all  the  daily  calls.  Martin  went  to  bed 
directly  after  tattoo,  except  when  he  was  officer  of  the 
day,  and  he  was  always  up  and  out  at  reveille. 

Upon  those  rare  occasions  when  Captain  Burke  left  his 
post  to  go  to  Charleston  for  supplies,  he  doffed  his  regu 
lation  coat  and  pants  and  replaced  them  with  a  suit  of 
satinet.  Where  that  satinet  dress-coat  with  short  trun 
cated  tails  and  horizontal  pocket-openings  was  fabricated, 
no  mortal  could  tell  or  imagine.  He  retained  the  drab 
vest  with  standing  collar,  and  when  he  approached  the 
shore  he  would  open  the  big  leather  hat-box  that  he 
always  carried,  take  out  and  put  upon  his  head  a  tall, 
right  cylindrical,  black  silk  hat  with  a  narrow  rim,  and  re 
place  it  in  the  box  with  his  forage  cap.  Thus  equipped, 


Pleasant  Years  at  Charleston.  187 

Martin  would  make  his  rounds  in  the  city  and  return  to 
the  boat  a  few  minutes  before  the  time  of  leaving.  He 
never  had  any  intercourse  with  citizens  that  I  could  see, 
except  to  purchase  what  he  needed,  and  although  his 
dress  and  figure  attracted  much  notice,  there  was  an  air 
of  determination  in  his  face  and  of  force  about  him 
which  protected  him  from  insult.  He  was  prompt  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duties,  and  absolutely  free  from  vice. 
Let  all  those  who  would  comprehend  the  most  perfect 
specimen  of  a  garrison  officer  that  has  lived  in  the  nine 
teenth  century  attend  to  the  history  herein  given  of  the 
late  Colonel  Martin  Burke  of  the  United  States  army. 

To  sum  up  the  reasons  that  contributed  to  attach  me  to 
Charleston  and  the  people  of  South  Carolina,  I  find  I  en 
joyed  during  the  two  years  from  July,  1842,  till  June, 
1844,  while  I  was  stationed  at  Fort  Moultrie,  all  the  essen 
tial  elements  of  human  happiness. 

I  had  health,  youth,  congenial  company,  emulation,  re 
sentments  that  proved  my  temper,  connubial  felicity,  the 
exultation  of  early  offspring,  the  hospitality  of  a  proud 
aristocracy,  the  society  of  incomparably  graceful  women, 
the  enlivenment  of  platonic  love,  the  councils  of  noble 
men,  and  all  the  emotions  that  warm  the  human  heart. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  above-named  attractions,  to 
gether  with  such  phantoms  of  hope  as  would  sometimes 
visit  my  imagination,  which  has  always  been  as  arid  of 
future  benefits  as  an  Arabian  desert  of  verdure,  I  had 
time  to  reflect  on  the  tendency  of  the  prejudices  of  the 
Carolinians  against  the  North,  and  I  foresaw  that  slavery, 
as  it  fostered  those  prejudices,  would  ere  long  terminate 
in  civil  war. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

From  my  appointment  to  duty  at  West  Point  as  Chief  of  Department  of 
Artillery  and  Cavalry. — The  West  Point  board. — Nominations  for  the 
post. — My  nomination  by  Lee. — The  Military  Academy  and  its  merits. — 
Influence  of  Colonel  Thayer. — His  successors. — Delafield,  Cullum,  and 
others. — The  class  of  1846. — McClellan,  Foster,  Reno,  Couch,  Sturgis 
Stoneman,  Palmer.  —  Thomas  J.  Jackson,  Maxey,  Pickett.  —  Derby 
("John  Phoenix ")•—  Classes  of '47  and  '48.— Miss  Scott. 

HAVING  been  appointed  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Visitors  to  the  Military  Academy,  I  left  Charleston 
with  my  family  and  arrived  at  West  Point  early  in  June, 
1844.  The  Board  was  composed  wholly  of  officers  of  the 
army,  among  whom  were  Major-General  Winfield  Scott, 
President ;  Brigadier-General  William  J.  Worth,  Captain 
(afterwards  General)  Robert  E.  Lee,  of  the  Engineer 
Corps,  and  others.  My  seat  happened  to  be  next  that  of 
Lee,  and  as  I  had  been  previously  intimate  with  him,  we 
had  an  opportunity  every  day  for  three  weeks  that  the 
examination  lasted  to  interchange  our  views.  We  dis 
cussed  the  topics  of  the  day,  and  all  subjects  relating  to 
the  Union  and  the  dangers  that  threatened  it.  I  gave 
full  expression  to  my  ardent  Northern  sentiments,  and  he 
treated  them  with  a  candor  and  fairness  altogether  un 
usual  with  his  fellow  Southerners.  What  surprised  me 
most  was  that  immediately  afterwards  he  placed  me 
under  obligations  to  him  which  I  can  never  forget. 

The  Department  of  Artillery  and  Cavalry,  over  which 
Captain  Miner  Knowlton  had  presided  and  lost  his 
health,  was  vacant,  and  there  were  three  candidates  for 
his  succession.  General  Scott  nominated  Captain  Robert 


Appointment  to  Duty  at  West  Point.  189 

Anderson,  who  was  afterwards  made  famous  at  Fort 
Sumter ;  Colonel  Delafield,  who  was  the  Superintendent, 
nominated  Lieutenant  Irwin  McDowell,  now  Major-Gen 
eral,  and  I  was  nominated  by  Captain  Robert  E.  Lee, 
without  suggestion  or  knowledge  on  my  own  part.  In 
the  beginning  General  Scott  told  me  he  should  support 
Captain  Anderson,  but  after  a  few  days  he  informed  me 
that  he  had  conversed  with  the  Academic  Board  and 
that  they  preferred  me.  "  Now,  young  gentleman,"  said 
he,  "  I  am  for  you."  Backed  by  the  names  of  Scott  and 
Lee,  I  was,  as  a  matter  of  course,  successful.  I  held  the 
place  nearly  five  years,  and  found  it  profitable  to  myself 
and  advantageous  to  my  family. 

The  benefit  received  was  clearly  due  to  Lee,  and  the 
manner  of  its  bestowal  added  many-fold  to  its  value  in 
my  estimation.  He  did  not  ostentatiously  stoop  from  his 
high  estate  to  elevate  a  suppliant  and  give  him  a  con 
spicuous  position,  nor  did  he  afterwards  claim  to  have 
made  me. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  I  thanked  him  for  his  service 
in  my  behalf,  he  made  me  feel  that  I  owed  him  nothing. 
Such  a  favor,  so  graciously  bestowed,  produced  in  me  a 
sense  of  gratitude  that  nothing  could  change ;  and 
although  I  subsequently  met  General  Lee  on  several 
fields  of  battle,  and  did  my  best  to  kill  him  and  his  fol 
lowers,  yet  every  pulsation  of  my  heart  has  been  of  kind 
ness  for  him  and  his,  and  will  be  till  the  end  of  my  life. 

Under  the  influence  of  that  feeling,  but  with  a  firm  re 
solve  to  adhere  strictly  to  the  truth,  I  shall  give  my  im 
pressions  of  him,  which  will  be  found  in  another  chapter. 

Upon  rejoining  the  Military  Academy  as  an  officer,  it 
seemed  to  me  when  I  saw  the  battalion  marching  on  the 
plain,  that  its  appearance  had  undergone  no  change.  I 
could  only  discover  by  a  near  approach  that  the  counte- 


19°  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

nances  of  the  cadets  were  strange  to  me.  As  I  was  to 
teach  ballistics,  etc.,  I  thought  it  prudent  to  read  over 
the  entire  course  of  mathematics,  which  I  had  wholly 
neglected. 

While  I  was  a  cadet  it  was  supposed  that  our  seniors  of 
a  few  years  could  graduate  if  they  knew  the  "rule  of 
three."  I  found  the  same  idea  still  prevailing,  but  when 
I  came  to  read  Church's  Calculus  and  other  mathemati 
cal  text-books,  I  found  everything  had  been  simplified 
and  made  so  easy  that  all  I  had  to  do  was  to  cram.  If 
the  same  simplifying  process  continues,  the  cadets  of 
the  present  day  must  be  able  to  answer  a  host  of  easy 
questions,  but  they  are  no  longer  subject  to  the  strong 
tests  of  mental  perspicacity  that  were  applied  in  my  day. 

The  Military  Academy  has  already  had  numerous 
enemies,  but  in  my  opinion  it  is  an  invaluable  institution 
in  many  respects.  It  constitutes  the  only  society  of 
human  beings  that  I  have  known  in  which  the  standing 
of  an  individual  is  dependent  wholly  upon  his  own  merits 
so  far  as  they  can  be  ascertained  without  extraneous  in 
fluence.  The  son  of  the  poorest  and  most  obscure  man, 
being  admitted  as  a  cadet,  has  an  equal  chance  to  gain 
the  honors  of  his  class  with  the  son  of  the  most  powerful 
and  the  richest  man  in  the  country.  All  must  submit  to 
the  same  discipline,  wear  the  same  clothes,  eat  at  the 
same  table,  come  and  go  upon  the  same  conditions.  Birth, 
avarice,  fashion  and  connections  are  without  effect  to 
determine  promotion  or  punishment ;  consequently  the 
Military  Academy  is  a  model  republic  in  all  things  saving 
respect  to  constituted  authority  and  obedience  to  orders, 
without  which  an  army  is  impossible. 

Although  a  military  school  had  been  established  at 
West  Point  about  the  year  1801,  it  was  not  till  1817, 
when  Colonel  Sylvanus  Thayer  became  the  Super- 


Superintendent  Thayer.  191 

intendent,  that  it  assumed  the  character  it  has  since 
borne.  Thayer  was  an  accomplished  man,  and  nature 
had  endowed  him  with  the  requisites  to  found  a  system 
and  give  it  permanence.  He  established  a  Roman  dis 
cipline,  and  introduced  the  system  of  mathematical  and 
military  studies  which  were  then  in  vogue  in  France, 
where  he  had  studied.  His  personal  appearance  was 
majestic,  and  his  punctuality  unfailing.  Every  morning 
at  half-past  seven  o'clock  he  was  in  his  office  neat  and 
prim,  epaulettes  and  ruffled  shirt,— a  glory  long  since 
departed — ready  to  receive  the  applications  and  com 
plaints  of  cadets.  His  decisions  once  quickly  made  were 
final,  and  no  cadet  was  ever  known  to  repeat  an  effort  to 
change  them.  Besides  my  admiration  for  General 
Thayer,  he  secured  my  gratitude  by  telling  me,  after  I  had 
graduated,  that  I  should  be  one  of  the  first  of  my  class  he 
should  apply  for  to  return  as  an  instructor,  advising  me 
at  the  same  time  to  go  and  serve  a  while  with  my  regi 
ment.  I  thanked  him  for  his  kindness,  but  at  the  end  of 
eighteen  months,  when  I  was  applied  for  as  a  teacher  of 
mathematics,  I  declined,  as  I  had  no  use  for  more  equations. 
It  was  never,  to  my  knowledge,  asserted  that  Superin 
tendent  Thayer  was  partial  in  the  bestowal  of  punish 
ments  or  rewards,  but  once  during  the  administration  of 
General  Jackson  several  cadets  who  had  been  discharged 
for  violating  the  regulations,  or  for  incompetency  in  study, 
were  reinstated  by  that  stupendous  old  hero,  with  orders  to 
Colonel  Thayer  to  moderate  the  discipline.  Superintendent 
Thayer,  who  considered  himself  grossly  snubbed,  applied 
to  be  relieved,  left  the  Point,  and  no  persuasion  could 
afterwards  induce  him  to  return  there.  He  was  placed  on 
duty  in  the  harbor  of  Boston,  where  he  built  a  fort  which 
stands  as  a  model,  in  the  fashion  of  the  time,  of  defensive 
structures. 


192  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

At  his  new  post  he  became  less  social  than  formerly 
contracted  his  personal  expenses  almost  to  penury,  which 
enabled  him  to  save  the  greater  portion  of  his  pay.  With 
the  assistance  and  advice  of  a  friend  of  great  financial 
ability  his  savings  grew  to  a  fortune  of  over  $300,000,  the 
largest  part  of  which  he  left  to  establish  an  institution  of 
learning.  His  habits  were  regular  and  simple,  especially 
in  his  old  age,  but  his  appetite  was  always  good,  and  at 
his  dinner,  as  General  Scott  informed  me,  he  was  satisfied 
with  three  pounds  of  anything.  General  Thayer  was  a 
most  valuable  public  servant,  able  and  laborious,  and 
never  disposed  to  hilarity.  He  died  a  bachelor  at  the 
age  of  88.  He  was  called  the  father  of  the  Military 
Academy,  a  title  that  no  officer  ever  disputed,  and  a  statue 
has  recently  been  erected  at  West  Point  that  will  recall  to 
the  cadets  the  features  of  their  illustrious  benefactor. 

Among  the  officers  of  engineers  who  succeeded  Colonel 
Thayer  were  many  able  men,  Richard  Delafield,  Robert 
E.  Lee,  and  George  W.  Cullum  being  of  the  number. 
Delafield,  who  was  then  a  major  and  afterwards  a  general, 
was  Superintendent  when  I  arrived,  and  from  him  I  re 
ceived  my  department,  from  which  he  withheld  the  com 
mand  of  a  company  of  soldiers  that  had  been  subject  to 
the  orders  of  my  predecessor.  Upon  the  refusal  of  the 
Superintendent  to  give  me  the  company,  I  appealed  to  the 
Chief  Engineer.  To  him  I  addressed  several  letters,  in 
one  of  which  I  accused  Major  Delafield  in  direct  terms  of 
being  influenced  against  me  by  personal  considerations, 
which  I  suspected  because  my  appointment  had  been  in 
opposition  to  his  recommendation.  I  was  finally  over 
ruled,  but  instead  of  my  respect  for  my  immediate 
superior  being  diminished  it  was  -greatly  increased,  be 
cause  I  became  assured  by  observation  that  he  was  the 
chief  at  the  Point,  and  that  he  was  not  directed  by 


Colonel  Thayer's  Successors.  193 

favorites  in  the  Academic  Board.  At  the  end  of  a  year 
another  officer  succeeded  as  Superintendent,  whose  will, 
compared  with  that  of  Delafield,  was  as  a  rush  to  an  oak. 
The  new  incumbent,  governed  by  counsellors,  and  the  un 
certainty  as  to  who  originated  the  orders  given  to  me,  was 
a  constant  source  of  annoyance  and  discomfort. 

Major  Delafield  had  not  the  genius  of  Thayer  to  origi 
nate  a  system,  but  in  economical  ingenuity  and  taste  he 
vastly  excelled  all  others.  Delafield  embellished  the 
Point  with  roads  and  structures  of  various  uses,  and  he 
had  the  credit  of  doing  more  with  a  dollar  than  any  other 
man  in  the  army.  His  supervision  was  felt  throughout 
all  the  departments  of  the  academy ;  not  by  the  sneaking 
methods  peculiar  to  many  commanders,  but  in  such  a 
way  as  enabled  him  to  judge  fairly  the  services  of  his 
subordinates.  As  a  commanding  officer  he  was  always 
just  and  fearless,  and  for  that  reason  I  admired  him  as 
much  as  any  one  I  ever  served  under.  In  the  year  1860, 
while  I  was  the  military  secretary  of  Lieutenant-General 
Scott,  Colonel  Delafield,  being  again  on  duty  as  Superin 
tendent,  invited  me  to  take  charge  of  the  department  of 
artillery  and  cavalry  a  second  time,  but  I  declined,  and 
Major  George  H.  Thomas,  afterwards  general,  was  ap 
pointed. 

Of  the  administrations  of  Lee  and  Cullum  at  West 
Point  my  knowledge  is  not  sufficiently  specific  to  enable 
me  to  speak  intelligently.  Lee's  character  I  will  portray 
to  the  best  of  my  ability  in  another  chapter,  and  Cullum's 
history  is  too  extensive  and  varied  for  my  work.  His  per 
sonal  character  I  could  not  depict  in  a  manner  satisfac 
tory  to  myself,  because  I  never  tugged  with  him  in  the 
same  service,  nor  clashed  with  him  in  any  conflict.  From 
him  and  his  admirable  wife  I  have  received  civilities,  and 
I  hold  them  both  in  great  respect.  No  consideration, 
9 


194  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

however,  that  is  entirely  personal  to  myself,  could  so 
strongly  move  me  to  refer  to  him,  as  does  the  service  he 
has  rendered  to  our  common  Alma  Mater.  He  has  col 
lected  and  published  in  books  the  names  of  all  the  grad 
uates  of  the  Military  Academy,  and  given  the  prominent 
events  in  the  histories  of  a  vast  majority  of  them.  His 
tedious  labors  have  been  performed  with  a  perseverance 
and  accuracy,  as  well  as  a  freedom  from  prejudice,  that 
entitle  him  to  the  gratitude  of  his  compeers.  His  col 
lection  is  not  only  interesting  to  all  whom  it  directly 
concerns,  but  it  is  an  essential  benefit  to  the  whole  coun 
try  to  find  in  a  compendious  form  the  proofs  of  the  value 
of  the  Military  Academy.  That  institution  accomplishes 
all  that  finite  means  can  perform  in  an  equal  space  of 
time,  to  increase  a  man's  value  in  war  and  his  integrity 
in  peace  ;  and  among  those  whose  faithful  and  efficient 
devotion  to  it  entitle  them  to  honor,  I  place  the  name  of 
George  W.  McCullum  second  only  to  that  of  Sylvanus 
Thayer. 

In  my  time  applications  for  cadets'  warrants  were  made 
directly  to  the  Secretary  of  War.  Now  they  are  obtained 
through  the  members  of  Congress  of  the  districts  in  which 
the  applicants  reside.  Under  the  former  system  the  corps  of 
cadets  contained  a  large  number  of  youths  whose  fathers 
were  conspicuous  for  talents,  wealth,  and  position.  At 
present  few  such,  comparatively,  are  enrolled.  Represen 
tatives  are  constantly  boasting  that  their  candidates  are 
poor  boys,  and  their  rule  appears  to  be  to  exclude  the 
well-to-do  from  the  academy.  Such  a  rule  is  vicious  in 
the  extreme,  unless  it  can  be  shown  that  a  boy  will  be 
come  efficient  because  his  father  was  a  failure.  There 
should  be  no  such  rule,  since  it  would  be  unjust  to  exclude 
the  poor,  and  impolitic  to  deny  the  sons  of  the  rich  and 
powerful.  A  body  of  officers  who  have  in  charge  the  de- 


West  Point  Characters.  195 

fences  of  the  country,  and  who  may  be  called  on  to  pro 
tect  its  frontiers  and  defend  its  honor,  ought  certainly  to 
embrace  representatives  of  the  country's  most  prominent 
families. 

To  keep  within  the  limit  prescribed  for  my  work,  I  am 
obliged  to  forego  the  satisfaction  I  should  feel  in  record 
ing  my  remembrance  of  many  worthy  officers  with  whom 
I  was  associated  at  West  Point.  I  refer  to  a  few  whose 
qualities  were  extraordinary,  or  peculiar,  and  to  such  as 
did  me  service  for  which  I  am  bound  to  be  grateful. 

There  was  one  instructor  of  mathematics,  who  was  long 
the  terror  of  all  new  cadets.  His  name  was  Edward  C. 
Ross,  but  for  some  reason,  unknown  to  me,  he  was  called 
«  Old  Ruben."  "  Old  Ruben  "  had  a  habit  of  arranging 
surds  in  such  a  knotty  combination  as  seemed  to  defy  so 
lution,  and  he  would  require  his  pupils  to  disentangle 
them.  While  chalking  the  surds  on  the  blackboard,  "  Old 
Ruben  "  would  from  time  to  time  pause,  throw  back  his 
left  leg  and  bend  the  knee,  and  then  draw  back  his  right 
shoulder,  with  his  hand  behind  him,  depress  his  chin  and 
look  at  his  work,  and  then  at  his  class,  every  member  of 
which  would  sit  in  consternation  expecting  to  be  called 
up.  We  regarded  him  as  a  direct  descendant  of  Dio- 
phantus,  that  cursed  old  Egyptian  who  invented  the  hor 
rors  that  Old  Ruben  cherished.  I  had  not  been  a  week 
at  the  Point  when  he  was  pointed  out  to  me  by  an  old 
cadet,  who  frightened  me  with  the  prospect  of  being  called 
on  at  no  distant  day  to  attack  a  clump  of  surds  and  be 
demolished.  When  I  afterwards  met  Old  Ruben  as  a 
captain  of  artillery,  I  found  him  a  quiet  gentleman,  but  I 
could  never  divest  myself  of  the  idea  that  his  nature  was 
diabolic. 

Every  genus  of  creature  embraces  many  varieties,  and 
so  it  is  with  mathematicians.  When  the  Omnipotent 


196  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

created  "  all  things  for  man's  delightful  use,"  he  made 
Albert  E.  Church  to  teach  cadets  algebra,  geometry, 
trignometry,  conic  sections,  and  calculus,  and  to  find  out 
all  that  candidates  for  admission  know  of  vulgar  and  deci 
mal  fractions.  My  first  recitation  in  algebra  was  to  Mr. 
Church.  He  gave  me  a  problem  which  I  wrote  on  the 
blackboard,  but,  not  feeling  certain  of  its  accuracy,  I  re 
turned  to  my  seat  to  verify  it  from  the  book.  "  What 
are  you  doing,  Mr.  Keyes?"said  he.  I  replied  that  I 
was  verifying  the  accuracy  of  my  statement.  "  I  called 
you  up  to  ascertain  if  you  knew  the  problem,"  said  he, 
"  and  not  to  hear  you  read  it ;  so  you  may  rub  out  what 
you  have  written  and  I  will  give  you  another."  I  did  not 
require  a  second  similar  admonition,  and  took  care  after 
wards  to  know  my  problems  without  reference  to  the  text. 
Church  was  appointed  professor  at  an  early  age,  and  after 
an  uninterrupted  service  of  nearly  forty  years  he  died  sud 
denly  at  West  Point,  March  3<Dth,  1878.  I  doutt  if  he 
left  in  the  world  a  superior  in  his  special  branch  of  knowl 
edge,  or  one  who  did  his  duty  with  greater  patience  and 
conscientiousness.  His  reputation  as  an  author  of  mathe 
matical  text-books  was  also  great,  and  his  integrity  as  a 
man  was  of  the  highest  order.  I  do  not  remember  to  have 
heard  Professor  Church  charged  with  injustice  in  a  single 
instance,  and  no  pupil  could  have  found  cause  for  such  a 
charge.  He  would  have  been  better  known  if  he  had  been 
more  demonstrative  and  more  intriguing,  but  he  could 
not  have  been  more  esteemed  by  those  who  knew  him 
well.  To  his  superior  merit  as  a  teacher  and  an  author, 
he  added  the  inestimable  gift  of  fidelity  to  friendship. 
My  experience  of  the  kisses  and  kicks  of  that  uncertain 
damsel  Fortune  has  enabled  me  to  mark  her  influence  upon 
the  countenances  of  men.  Church  held  the  jade  in  con 
tempt,  and  the  friend  he  had  once  adopted  was  ever  after 


The  Class  of  1846.  197 

sure  of  him.  When  my  bark  was  assailed  by  tempests  of 
lies  and  seemed  about  to  founder,  he  turned  on  me  a 
look  that  sustained  me,  till  poverty,  disgrace,  and  death 
began  to  fang  my  traducers,  and  until  my  bark  was  fanned 
again  by  prosperous  gales. 

During  my  service  at  West  Point  my  opportunities 
enabled  me  to  observe  the  qualities  and  to  estimate  the 
promise  of  a  great  number  of  cadets,  of  whom  several 
afterwards  became  known  to  the  public.  Subsequent  suc 
cess  has  not  in  all  cases  corresponded  with  class  standing, 
nor  could  that  be  expected,  since  the  number  of  a  cadet 
in  his  class  is  chiefly  determined  by  the  acquisitions  in 
the  exact  sciences,  of  which  the  foundation  is  mathematics. 
Macaulay,  who  had  known  a  vast  number  of  the  distin 
guished  men  of  his  time,  declared  that  the  greatness  of 
every  man  was  in  nearly  the  exact  proportion  with  his 
memory,  while  at  the  Military  Academy  a  great  memory 
is  often  regarded  as  the  evidence  of  a  moderate  intellect, 
which  is  a  local  mistake.  I  suspect  that  talent  and  mem 
ory  go  together,  and  that  genius  is  often  independent 
of  the  latter. 

McClellan  was  of  the  class  of  1846,  and  a  pleasanter 
pupil  was  never  called  to  the  blackboard.  I  shall  have 
occasion  to  refer  to  him  hereafter. 

Foster,  Reno,  Couch,  Sturgis,  Stoneman,  Palmer,  Gor 
don,  Davis,  and  Russell,  all  of  whom  held  commissions  as 
major-generals  or  brigadier-generals  in  the  Union  army 
during  the  Rebellion,  were  of  the  same  class  ;  also  Thomas 
J.  Jackson,  Samuel  B.  Maxey  and  George  E.  Pickett,  who 
became  famous  among  the  Confederates.  The  class  was 
full  of  merit,  but  my  space  will  not  admit  detailed  allu 
sions  to  more  than  a  few  individuals.  Our  historians 
should  do  justice  to  the  Northern  officers,  and  there  is  no 
good  reason  why  we  should  deny  merit  to  those  who 


;g8  Fifty   Years'  Observation. 

fought  against  us.  General  Lee  designated  Stonewall 
Jackson  as  his  right  arm,  and  the  loss  of  that  officer  could 
no  more  be  replaced  than  could  that  of  the  great  South 
ern  chief  himself.  As  a  cadet,  I  observed  no  unusual  sign 
or  indication  of  genius  in  Jackson.  He  was  seventeenth 
in  a  class  of  fifty-nine.  His  conduct  was  good,  his  appear 
ance  manly,  and  his  demeanor  quiet.  He  never  sought  to 
attract  notice,  and  the  same  disposition  appears  to  have 
attended  him  in  his  ascent  to  the  pinnacle  of  distinction, 
for  he  always  allowed  fame  to  follow  in  the  wake  of  his 
exploits.  The  conduct  of  Jackson's  campaign  in  1862 
between  Harper's  Ferry  and  Richmond  justifies  any  meas 
ure  of  praise.  He  was  the  Laudon  of  the  Confederate 
army. 

George  Derby,  known  afterwards  as  "  Squibob  "  and 
"  Phcenix,"  was  of  the  class  of  1846.  He  was  a  caricatur 
ist  of  no  mean  order  and  a  humorist,  in  both  of  which 
capacities  he  took  delight  in  exposing  weaknesses,  follies, 
and  indelicacies.  There  was  a  regulation  at  the  academy 
which  forbade  the  disfiguring  of  text-books.  Derby,  in 
disregard  of  that  regulation,  transformed  all  the  pictures 
of  bones  and  fossils  of  the  antediluvian  periods  into 
strange  monsters.  His  text-book  on  geology  was  seized 
and  placed  before  the  Academic  Board,  where  it  caused 
such  irresistible  laughter  that  it  was  decided  not  to  in 
terview  nor  punish  the  delinquent. 

At  one  time  in  the  Section  Room,  while  I  was  examin 
ing  my  class  upon  the  force  of  explosives,  Derby  inquired 
of  me,  with  great  soberness,  what  would  be  the  effect  of 
confining  a  single  grain  of  gunpowder  in  the  centre  of 
the  earth  and  setting  fire  to  it.  I  replied,  with  equal  grav 
ity,  that  I  was  not  able  to  answer  his  question,  but  that 
I  would  make  requisition  on  the  ordnance  sergeant  for  a 
grain  of  powder,  and  authorize  him  to  try  the  experiment. 


John  Phoenix  (Squibob).  199 

Men  like  "Squibob"  are  generally  irreverent,  and  he 
was  not  an  exception.  During  the  Indian  wars  of  1856- 
'57,  and  '58  in  Washington  Territory,  the  savages  captured 
a  Catholic  priest  and  led  him  away  into  bondage. 
"  Squibob  "  illustrated  the  event  by  representing  a  priest 
in  full  canonicals,  with  a  big  half-naked  Indian  walking  on 
each  side  of  him.  They  carried  a  crook  and  crozier,  with 
a  tooth-brush  attached  to  one  and  a  comb  to  the  other. 
The  letters  I.  H.  S.  were  conspicuous  upon  the  chasuble 
of  the  priest,  and  upon  close  inspection  could  be  read  the 
words,  "  I  Hate  Siwashes." 

The  frequent  changes  of  the  uniform  of  the  army  have 
often  been  absurd,  inconvenient,  and  costly.  Many  of 
the  changes  are  as  idiotic  and  uncalled-for  as  the  recent 
alterations  of  coins;  and  what  change  could  be  less  sensi 
ble  than  the  abandonment  of  the  old  nickel  five-cent 
piece  for  the  new  one,  which  is  often  mistaken  for  a  quar 
ter-dollar,  or  a  $5  piece,  when  gilt  ? 

At  one  time  when  the  War  Department,  or  rather  Ad 
jutant-General  R.  Jones,  determined  to  adopt  a  new  uni 
form,  "  Squibob  "  sent  to  him  a  description,  with  draw 
ings,  of  a  uniform,  which  he  said  possessed  several  pe 
culiar  advantages,  one  of  which  was  a  hook  on  the  seat 
of  the  soldier's  pants.  The  company  officers  were  to 
carry  a  long  pole  with  a  similar  hook  at  the  end.  When 
the  column  was  to  change  direction  the  officers  would 
place  their  poles  in  the  hooks,  so  that  the  platoons  would 
"  wheel  as  even  as  a  gate."  In  case  a  soldier  attempted 
to  run  away,  the  officer  would  spring  forward,  catch  him 
by  the  hook,  and  hold  him  fast.  Poor  riders  in  the  cav 
alry  could  be  held  in  the  saddle  by  another  hook  fixed 
upon  the  cantle ;  and  in  case  of  a  deficiency  of  wagons, 
the  soldiers  could  carry  their  camp  kettles  suspended 
from  the  hooks.  All  the  changes  suggested  by  "  Squi- 


2OO  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

bob  "  were  illustrated  by  drawings  that  were  inimitably 
ludicrous,  but  his  propositions  were  discarded. 

A  new  uniform  was  adopted  which  was  so  different 
from  the  old  that  for  a  considerable  length  of  time  it 
gave  full  scope  to  "  Squibob's  "  genius  as  a  caricaturist. 
One  of  his  drawings  represented  Paradise,  in  the  form  of 
a  convent  and  enclosed  garden.  A  section  of  the  build 
ing  was  cut  off  so  as  to  expose  to  view  a  choir  of  ten  or 
twelve  officers  who  had  been  killed  in  the  Mexican  War, 
or  who  had  died  within  a  few  years. 

There  were  Generals  Taylor,  Worth,  and  Brooke, 
Colonels  Cross  and  Ringgold,  Captain  Vinton,  and  others. 
All  the  likenesses  were  exact,  and  the  departed  officers 
had  on  the  old  uniform,  and  were  chanting  a  hymn  with 
devout  earnestness.  Below,  standing  within  the  gate 
way,  was  Saint  Peter,  whose  face  had  a  hard,  rectilinear  ex 
pression.  The  Saint  had  on  the  dress  of  a  monk,  but  in 
stead  of  a  cowl  he  wore  a  rim  cap,  the  top  of  which  was  a 
square  flat  slab,  with  tassels  hanging  from  the  corners.  A 
young  officer  who  had  been  killed  in  the  war,  fully 
dressed  and  equipped  according  to  the  new  regulations,  is 
approaching  to  enter  the  gate,  but  Saint  Peter  stops  him, 
saying  :  "  Young  man,  you  can't  come  in  here  with  that 
uniform  on ! " 

"Squibob's  "  written  compositions  were  as  fantastic  as 
his  pictures,  and  there  was  nothing  he  could  not  turn  to 
ridicule.  He  was  intimate  with  Surgeon  C.  M.  Hitch 
cock,  superior  medical  officer  in  San  Francisco,  and  on  one 
occasion,  seeing  the  doctor's  horse  hitched  at  his  door^he 
mounted  him  and  rode  out  to  the  Presidio.  Hitchcock 
was  furiously  angry,  and  wrote  a  letter  to  upbraid  him. 
"  Squibob  "  replied  in  a  long  letter,  in  which  he  excused 
himself  and  deprecated  "the  wrath  of  the  physician," 
in  a  way  that  furnished  laughter  for  a  week  at  the  mess. 


The  Class  of  1847.  201 

Derby  published  a  book  entitled  "  John  Phoenix,"  with 
a  portrait  of  the  author.  His  account  of  himself  and  his 
oddities  omitted  many  of  his  best  sayings  and  doings,  and 
made  him  appear  of  much  less  importance  than  he  was  in 
reality,  for  he  was  an  able  and  accomplished  engineer. 

Of  the  class  of  1847  I  have  kept  in  view  the  names  of 
several  of  its  members,  among  them  my  friend,  Colonel 
Julian  McAllister,  of  the  Ordnance  Department,  in  which 
he  is  always  conspicuous.  Those  who  rose  to  be  Briga 
dier  or  Major-Generals  during  the  Civil  War  were  O.  B. 
Wilcox,  J.  B.  Fry,  H.  G.  Gibson,  John  Gibbon,  Ambrose 
E.  Burnside,  R.  B.  Ayers,  Thomas  H.  Neill,  and  Eg 
bert  L.  Viele,  who  since  the  war  has  had  employment  in 
the  civil  service  of  New  York  City.  Ambrose  P.  Hill 
joined  the  Confederate  army,  rose  to  high  rank,  became 
famous,  and  was  killed  near  Petersburg,  Va.,  April  2,  1865. 

At  the  time  of  graduating,  I  applied  to  the  Superin 
tendent  to  allow  me  to  detain  McAllister,  Burnside,  and 
Hill  as  assistants  in  artillery  during  the  encampment.  I 
applied  for  those  young  gentlemen  for  no  other  reason 
but  that  I  considered  them  best  fitted  to  aid  me  in  the 
instruction  of  the  new  cadets.  My  superior  disapproved 
of  Burnside  and  Hill,  and  I  was  obliged  to  substitute 
other  names.  I  am  unable  to  guess  the  motives  that 
caused  the  rejection  of  those  two  officers,  both  of  whom 
had  the  gift  of  personal  popularity  joined  with  ambition, 
which  enabled  them  in  all  the  situations  of  life  to  pass 
for  their  full  value.  I  was  obliged  to  reverse  my  judg 
ment  of  most  things  to  be  in  accord  with  the  officers  who 
rejected  them. 

James  B.  Fry,  an  excellent  officer  and  man,  was  the 
chief  of  staff  of  General  McDowell  at  the  first  battle  of 
Bull  Run,  and  since  that  he  has  gained  distinction  in  the 
Adjutant-General's  Department. 


2O2  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

H.  G.  Gibson  was  my  subaltern  lieutenant  about  nine 
years,  and  our  friendly  associations  have  undergone  no  va 
riations.  He  is  an  accomplished  officer  and  a  gentleman, 
and  a  good  speaker.  I  know  of  no  man  except  Cullum 
who  is  more  intimately  and  correctly  acquainted  with  the 
history  of  the  army  during  the  last  thirty-six  years  than 
H.  G.  Gibson. 

The  class  of  1848  has  not  been  so  much  illustrated  by 
the  achievements  of  its  members  as  many  other  classes, 
although  several  good  names  are  among  them.  William 
P.  Trowbridge  is  the  Professor  of  the  Engineering  School 
of  Mines  of  New  York  City,  and  General  Tidball  and 
Colonel  Dodge  are  in  the  staff  of  General  Sherman,  the 
commanding  General  of  the  army.  R.  S.  Williamson  and 
Nathaniel  Michler  were  accomplished  officers,  and  several 
joined  the  lost  cause,  and  with  their  history  I  am  not  so 
well  acquainted. 

General  Scott  passed  a  portion  of  every  summer  at  the 
Point,  except  that  of  1847,  when  he  was  absent  in  Mexico. 
There  I  saw  nearly  as  much  of  him  as  when  I  belonged  to 
his  military  staff.  His  family  came  also  to  the  Point,  and 
one  summer  Mrs.  Scott  and  three  of  her  daughters  spent 
several  weeks  at  my  house. 

It  was  a  custom  of  the  old  masters  of  sacred  art  to 
adorn  their  portraits  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  with  imaginary 
cherubs.  They  hunted  through  the  world  for  beautiful 
forms,  and  exhausted  the  power  of  invention  to  endow 
the  faces  of  mortals  with  the  expression  of  angels.  I 
have  studied  the  pictures  of  Raphael,  Guido,  and  Murillo 
with  delight,  but  never  did  I  behold  the  likeness  of  a 
child  more  lovely  in  shape  and  countenance  than  Miss 
Adelaide  Camille  Scott,  as  she  appeared  in  the  early 
morning  of  her  life. 

As  soon  as  the  war  with  Mexico  commenced  (in  1846) 


The  Mexican  War.  203 

I  applied  for  duty  in  the  field,  but  my  request  was  denied. 
I  confess  that  I  felt  in  no  way  distressed  at  being  left  un 
disturbed  in  my  comfortable  quarters.  The  war  was  re 
garded  by  many  good  Northern  men  as  an  affair  of  the 
slaveholders,  and  it  is  certain  that  its  conduct  was  entire 
ly  sectional.  All  the  glory  of  its  victories,  and  the  lion's 
share  of  its  promotions  and  rewards,  inured  to  the  profit 
of  Southern  officers.  The  wounds  and  contusions,  shat 
tered  constitutions,  and  deaths  were  freely  shared  by 
those  from  the  North.  The  acquisition  of  the  goodly  ter 
ritory  which  now  constitutes  Arizona  and  the  State  of 
California,  though  an  incident  of  the  Mexican  War,  was  a 
sordid  purchase  for  the  gross  sum  of  $15,000,000.  The 
intention  of  the  purchasers  was  to  devote  it  to  slavery, 
but  in  that  they  failed.  It  is  a  land  of  endless  resources, 
where  free  labor,  skilfully  bestowed,  is  better  rewarded 
than  in  any  other  portion  of  the  United  States.  After 
having  compared  its  attractions  many  times  with  those  of 
the  most  favored  regions  of  the  earth,  I  was  made  more 
content  and  happy  at  my  last  return  to  it  than  ever  be 
fore.  As  my  space  will  not  admit  of  a  long  chapter  on 
California,  I  must  content  myself  with  a  short  one,  and 
such  allusions  to  it  as  occasion  may  hereafter  provoke. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Generals  Lee  and  Grant. — The  military  career  of  Lee. — His  personal  ap 
pearance. — My  last  sight  of  him. — Scott  on  Lee. — Foreign  opinions  of 
Lee. — Comparison  of  Lee  and  Grant. — First  sight  of  Grant. — Grant  in 
1880. — His  early  career. — His  civil  life. — His  re-entry  into  the  army. — 
Actions  at  Forts  Henry  and  Donaldson. — Trouble  with  Halleck. — The 
army  in  Tennessee  under  Grant. — Comparison  with  ancient  and  modern 
generals.— E.  B.  Washburne. — Sherman's  recognition  of  Grant. — Grant 
in  the  Wilderness. — Grant  the  ablest  American  General. 

THE  whole  civilized  world  has  reviewed  the  career  of 
General  Lee.  The  qualities  of  his  mind  and  dispo 
sition  have  been  recognized  and  extolled,  and  his  fate  has 
excited  the  tenderest  sympathy  in  millions  of  hearts.  A 
character  like  that  of  Robert  E.  Lee  could  not  possibly 
be  found  in  any  human  society  in  which  the  laws  and  pub 
lic  opinion  do  not  sanction  and  approve  of  marked  dis 
tinctions  of  rank  among  its  members. 

Lee's  family  was  of  the  highest,  and  his  cradle  was 
rocked  by  a  slave.  His  sense  of  superiority  and  fitness 
to  command,  being  infused  at  his  birth,  were  never 
questioned.  From  infancy  to  three-score  he.  knew  no 
physical  malady,  and  the  admirable  symmetry  of  his  per 
son  and  the  manly  beauty  of  his  countenance  were  the 
aids  to  his  virtues  which  secured  to  him  tolerance, 
affection,  and  respect  from  all  with  whom  he  mingled. 
He  passed  the  four  years  of  his  cadetship  without  a  single 
mark  of  demerit,  and  during  my  long  acquaintance  with 
him  I  never  heard  him  accused  of  an  act  of  meanness, 
tyranny,  or  neglect  of  duty.  His  nature  was  genial  and 


General  Lee.  205 

sociable,  and  he  would  join  freely  in  all  the  sports  and 
amusements  proper  to  his  age.  He  was  exempt  from 
every  form  and  degree  of  snobbery,  which  is  a  detestable 
quality  that  appears  most  often  among  people  whose 
theories  of  government  presume  an  absolute  equality.  He 
was  a  favorite  with  the  ladies,  but  he  never  allowed  them 
to  waste  his  time,  to  warp  his  judgment,  or  to  interrupt 
his  duty.  To  whatever  station  he  was  ordered,  however 
secluded  or  unhealthy  it  might  be,  he  would  go  to  it  with 
cheerfulness.  Every  kind  of  duty  seemed  a  pleasure  to 
him,  and  he  never  intrigued  for  promotion  or  reward. 
Nevertheless,  no  man  could  stand  in  his  presence  and  not 
recognize  his  capacity  and  acknowledge  his  moral  force. 
His  orders,  conveyed  in  mild  language,  were  instantly 
obeyed,  and  his  motives  were  universally  approved.  In 
all  the  time  in  which  I  observed  his  conduct  I  was  true  to 
my  own  antecedents.  I  was  a  Northern  man,  and  no  word 
dropped  from  my  lips  or  was  shed  from  my  pen  that  did 
not  testify  to  my  origin  and  proper  allegiance.  I  will  not 
deny  that  the  presence  of  Lee,  and  the  multiform  graces 
that  clustered  around  him,  oftentimes  oppressed  me, 
though  I  never  envied  him,  and  I  doubt  if  he  ever  excited 
envy  in  any  man.  All  his  accomplishments  and  alluring 
virtues  appeared  natural  in  him,  and  he  was  free  from  the 
anxiety,  distrust,  and  awkwardness  that  attend  a  sense  of 
inferiority,  unfriendly  discipline,  and  censure. 

The  last  time  I  saw  Lee  was  in  the  spring  of  1861.  He 
had  just  arrived  in  Washington  from  Texas,  where  he  had 
been  second  in  command  to  General  Twiggs,  who  sur 
rendered  to  the  Secessionists.  Coming  to  pay  his  respects 
to  the  commanding  general  of  the  army,  he  entered  my 
room  and  inquired  if  Lieutenant-General  Scott  was  dis 
engaged.  I  stepped  quickly  forward,  seized  his  hand- 
greeted  him  warmly,  and  said  :  "  Lee,  it  is  reported  that 


206  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

you  concurred  in  Twiggs*  surrender  in  Texas;  how's 
that?"  Without  replying  to  my  question  he  assumed  an 
air  of  great  seriousness,  and  calmly  said  :  "  I  am  here  to 
pay  my  respects  to  General  Scott ;  will  you  be  kind 
enough,  Colonel,  to  show  me  to  his  office  ?"  I  opened  the 
general's  door,  Lee  passed  in,  and  the  two  Virginians  re 
mained  alone  together  nearly  three  hours. 

It  was  usually  the  custom  of  General  Scott,  after  having 
had  a  private  interview  with  an  important  person,  to  re 
late  to  me  what  had  been  said.  On  this  occasion  he  told 
me  not  a  word,  and  he  made  no  reference  to  the  subject 
of  his  conversation  with  Colonel  Lee.  His  manner  that 
day,  when  we  dined  alone,  was  painfully  solemn.  He  had 
an  almost  idolatrous  fancy  for  Lee,  whose  military  genius 
he  estimated  far  above  that  of  any  other  officer  of  the 
army.  On  one  occasion,  after  the  Mexican  War,  General 
Scott,  speaking  to  me  of  Lee,  remarked  that,  if  hostilities 
should  break  out  between  our  country  and  England,  it 
would  be  cheap  for  the  United  States  to  insure  Lee's  life 
for  $5,000,000  a  year! 

It  has  frequently  been  surmised  that  Scott  at  one  time 
offered  to  retire  from  service  and  give  Lee  the  command 
of  the  Federal  army.  In  my  mind  there  is  not  a  shadow 
of  a  doubt  that  he  did  so  during  the  conference  above  re 
ferred  to.  Without  question  he  employed  his  utmost 
powers  to  convince  Lee  that  it  was  his  duty  to  comply 
with  his  suggestion.  The  two  gentlemen,  although  their 
opinions  were  usually  harmonious,  probably  disagreed  in 
regard  to  the  state  of  things  then  existing.  Scott  could 
have  had  no  idea  that  Lee  was  going  to  lead  an  army  of 
Northern  men  to  fight  against  the  South.  On  the  con 
trary,  he  desired  to  see  him  at  the  head  of  a  Union  force 
sufficiently  powerful  to  keep  the  peace  and  to  prevent 
civil  war,  which  they  equally  abhorred.  Both  those  men 


Comparison  of  Lee  and  Grant.  207 

were  born  in  Virginia,  and  both  loved  the  Union,  and 
neither  of  them  could  bear  the  thought  of  unsheathing 
his  sword  against  his  native  State.  The  younger  man 
considered  war  inevitable,  the  older  indulged  hopes  that 
it  might  be  avoided.  Lee  being  in  full  vigor  of  mind,  and 
conscientiously  bound  to  comply  with  the  decision  of  his 
native  State,  departed  to  join  the  seceders,  while  Scott, 
weighed  down  with  years  and  infirmities,  and  trusting  that 
hostilities  might  be  avoided  or  confined  to  a  few  skir 
mishes,  remained  with  the  North. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  enter  into  the  minute  details 
of  General  Lee's  military  operations,  to  show  my  esti 
mate  of  him  as  a  strategist  and  commander  of  armies. 
Several  foreign  officers  with  whom  I  discussed  his  military 
character  thought  him  superior  to  any  leader  in  the 
Federal  service,  and  I  understood  that  on  one  occasion 
General  Wolseley,  of  the  British  army,  declared  Lee  to  be 
not  only  the  superior  of  all  the  American  generals,  but 
that  he  was  the  equal  of  any  one  of  ancient  or  modern 
times.  In  arriving  at  that  conclusion,  the  distinguished 
English  officer  took  into  consideration  the  smallness  of 
Lee's  resources  in  men,  the  material  of  war,  means  of 
transportation,  etc.  He  did  not,  however,  consider  that 
nearly  all  the  officers,  as  well  as  a  large  portion  of  the 
rank  and  file  of  the  Confederate  armies,  were  as  much  in 
terested  in  the  success  of  the  Rebellion  as  he  himself  was. 
They  bore  their  hardships  and  deprivations  without  com 
plaint  and  with  the  constancy  of  martyrs.  Without  such 
devotion  Lee  must  have  laid  down  his  arms  long  before 
he  did.  In  view,  therefore,  of  all  the  circumstances  of  his 
case,  I  can  only  concede  to  him  the  second  rank  as  a 
general,  Ulysses  S.  Grant  standing  in  the  first. 

Lee's  greatness  as  a  chief  was  not  alone  on  the  field  of 
battle,  for  he  foresaw  clearly  the  difficulties  of  the  mighty 


2o8  Reminiscences  of  General  Scott. 

task  before  him,  to  which  the  majority  of  his  associates 
were  made  blind  by  conceit  and  senseless  prejudice.  When 
one  of  them  boasted  of  their  superior  bravery,  and  that 
one  Southerner  was  a  match  for  five  Yankees,  he  rebuked 
him  with  a  serious  reply.  He  told  him  that  the  Northern 
men  were  a  resolute  race,  abounding  in  resources  of  every 
kind,  and  that  to  beat  them  would  not  only  require  the 
whole  strength  of  the  South  and  an  able  leader,  but  also 
an  abundant  good  fortune.  He  also  saw  the  difficulty  of 
feeding  the  Confederate  troops  after  access  to  the  Nor 
thern  stores  was  cut  off.  He  and  a  few  other  prudent 
men  would  have  taken  steps  to  provide  for  a  future  sup 
ply  of  breadstuffs  and  meat,  but  the  President  of  the 
Confederacy  was  too  frantic  in  his  contempt  for  the  Nor 
thern  people  to  pay  attention  to  such  suggestions. 

During  my  experience  in  the  field,  especially  against  In 
dians  (for  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  our  soldiers  were 
always  well  and  sometimes  over-fed  and  pampered)  a 
part  of  the  ration  would  from  time  to  time  be  unavoid 
ably  wanting,  or  damaged  by  heat  and  transport.  On  all 
such  occasions  the  discontent  of  the  soldiers  was  apparent 
and  obtrusive.  Once  during  the  war  on  Puget  Sound, 
several  mules  of  a  pack  train,  bringing  supplies  to  my  camp 
in  the  interior,  were  swept  away  by  a  mountain  torrent 
they  were  obliged  to  cross.  They  were  laden  with  coffee 
and  sugar,  and  the  loss  of  those  luxuries  came  near  pro 
ducing  a  mutiny.  What,  therefore,  must  have  been  the 
secret  of  Lee's  influence,  which  enabled  him  to  keep  an 
army  together,  month  after  month,  and  could  make  them 
fight  valiantly  when  the  soldiers  had  nothing  but  raw 
corn  to  eat  ?  Who  can  estimate  his  labors  and  anxiety 
when,  striving  to  avoid  starvation,  he  was  obliged  to  find 
a  way  to  provide  war  materials,  and  to  transport  over 
worn-out  railroads  and  muddy  paths  through  the  woods  ? 


Lee's  Character.  209 

By  what  charm  did  he  sustain  the  spirits  of  his  followers 
in  winter  when  they  were  in  need  of  shoes  and  blankets  ? 
How  did  he  animate  his  sentinels  to  watch  his  lines  in 
the  midnight  sleet  and  rain  when  their  coats  were  thread 
bare  ?  Yet  all  those  things  he  accomplished  with  unfal 
tering  courage.  He  witnessed  the  closing,  one  after 
another,  of  every  opening  on  the  coast  through  which 
foreign  supplies  could  reach  him  ;  saw  his  own  ranks 
thinned  by  disease  and  lack  of  recruits,  while  the  million 
of  armed  Union  soldiers  were  penetrating  every  part  of 
the  Southern  Territory ;  and  it  was  only  when  all  possi 
bility  of  further  resistance  was  at  an  end  that  he  surren 
dered.  After  the  surrender  there  was  scarcely  a  vestige  of 
military  strength  remaining  in  the  whole  South — every 
thing  had  been  consumed  in  the  struggle,  the  duration 
and  intensity  of  which  were  due  almost  wholly  to  the 
genius  and  energy  of  this  one  man. 

It  is  possible  that  General  Lee  made  a  mistake  in  cross 
ing  the  Potomac  in  1863  to  fight  the  battle  of  Gettysburg. 
Perhaps  he  had  not  sufficiently  weighed  the  loss  he  had 
sustained  by  the  death  of  Stonewall  Jackson,  who  was 
killed  at  Chancellorsville  May  10,  1863,  less  than  two 
months  before.  If  that  hero  had  been  alive  the  battle 
in  all  likelihood  would  have  commenced  earlier  and  been 
won  by  Lee.  In  such  case  Washington  would  have 
quickly  fallen,  and  the  Union  would  have  been  split. 
Heaven  mercifully  saved  us  from  that  calamity. 

The  inherent  nobleness  of  Lee's  character  was  made 
manifest  after  he  had  been  vanquished  in  war  and  retired 
to  the  walks  of  civil  life.  The  Southern  people  never  re 
proached  him,  so  far  as  I  could  learn,  and  their  blessings 
attended  him  till  his  death,  which  occurred  Oct.  12, 1870, 
in  the  65th  year  of  his  age.  He  was  offered  positions  of 
trust  with  large  compensation  and  little  labor,  and  was 


2IO  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

invited  to  pass  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  luxury  by  a 
titled  Englishman,  but  he  declined  all  inducements  to 
ease:  He  accepted  the  presidency  of  the  Washington 
College,  which,  since  his  death,  is  called  "  Washington  and 
Lee  University,"  and  gave  all  his  remaining  strength  to 
its  pupils. 

I  can  discover  no  sufficient  reason  to  impugn  the  mo 
tives  of  General  Lee  in  joining  the  Confederate  ranks. 
His  State  believed  in  the  right  of  secession,  which  was 
repugnant  to  my  understanding,  and  with  it  he  undertook 
a  revolution,  which,  although  it  was  unsuccessful,  was 
concurred  in  by  a  larger  proportion  of  the  virtue,  intelli 
gence,  and  patriotism  of  the  whole  Southern  community, 
than  was  any  other  revolution  of  ancient  or  modern 
times.  The  right  to  hold  slaves  was  recognized  and  re 
served  when  the  Union  was  formed,  and  when  the  slave 
holders  imagined  that  right  was  invaded  by  the  North 
they  rebelled  and  made  war,  which,  fortunately  for  them 
as  well  as  for  us,  ended  in  their  defeat.  War  was  the 
only  means  to  get  rid  of  the  curse  of  slavery,  and  it  is 
idle  to  clamor  about  the  motives  of  either  party  to  it.  It 
is  therefore  proper  that  the  world  should  credit  General 
Robert  E.  Lee  with  genius  and  purity  of  intention,  jus 
tice  and  an  unsoiled  life.  Such  were  his  cardinal  virtues, 
and  in  the  variety  of  his  manly  accomplishments,  and  the 
graces  of  his  manners  and  person,  he  excelled  every  indi 
vidual  with  whom  I  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  ac 
quainted. 

Grant  and  Lee,  the  conqueror  and  conquered,  having 
been  the  commanding  generals-in-chief  of  all  the  forces 
of  their  respective  sections,  met  together  after  many 
bloody  conflicts  to  close  the  civil  war.  Their  names  will 
therefore  descend  to  posterity  as  its  principal  champions. 
The  account  I  have  given  of  Lee  suggests  a  comparison 


General  Grant.  211 

with  Grant,  the  notice  of  whose  varied  history,  I  must,  for 
want  of  space,  condense  to  a  summary  of  his  distinguish 
ing  characteristics  and  such  incidents  as  will  best  serve  to 
elucidate  a  comparison  of  their  qualities. 

In  describing  General  Grant's  character  and  military 
achievements,  I  am  not  actuated  by  personal  friendship. 
I  never  served  with  or  directly  under  him,  have  no  reason 
to  suppose  he  ever  asked  an  opinion  of  me  but  of  one 
man,  and  that  one  my  enemy  ;  and  it  was  only  on  three 
occasions  that  I  ever  exchanged  a  word  with  him.  The 
first  time  I  saw  him  was  in  the  month  of  March,  1864, 
when  he  was  about  to  assume  command  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac. 

Being  at  the  Continental  Hotel,  Philadelphia,  and  seat 
ed  at  a  table  in  the  dining-room  with  General  Sackett,  I 
saw  General  Grant  at  another  table  conversing  with  a 
man  who  showed  great  anxiety  to  engage  his  attention, 
which  Grant  seemed  not  disposed  to  give  him.  In  a 
short  time  he  left  the  stranger,  and  came  over  to  join 
Sackett  and  me,  saying  as  he  sat  down :  "  I  can't  stand 
that  fellow  any  longer."  We  conversed  pleasantly  on 
various  subjects,  and  when  I  offered  to  fill  a  glass  with 
champagne  for  him,  the  general  placed  his  hand  over  the 
glass,  saying  :  "  If  I  begin  to  drink,  I  must  keep  on  drink 
ing."  After  that  half-hour's  interview,  I  did  not  see  Gen 
eral  Grant  again  till  he  came  to  San  Francisco  in  1880, 
returning  from  his  trip  around  the  world. 

The  interval  of  eighteen  years  had  wrought  a  surpris 
ing  change  in  his  person  and  manners.  At  my  first  inter 
view,  he  was  meagre  in  appearance  and  thoughtful  in 
manner,  but  success  and  the  world's  adulation  appeared 
to  have  expanded  his  body  and  imparted  dignity  to  his 
presence.  I  enjoyed  a  few  minutes'  conversation  with 
him  at  Senator  Sharon's  grand  reception,  and  on  a  day 


212  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

before  he  left  San  Francisco,  when  it  was  given  out  that 
he  would  not  see  company,  I  sent  up  my  card,  and  was 
admitted  to  his  rooms  in  the  Palace  Hotel.  On  that  oc 
casion  two  officers  were  present,  and  also  three  ladies, 
who  were  calling  on  Mrs.  Grant,  with  whom  I  had  a 
pleasant  conversation.  The  general  himself  was  quite 
civil,  and  I  was  beginning  to  feel  complimented,  when  he 
remarked  with  a  smile  that  when  my  card  came  up  he 
mistook  it  for  that  of  another  person  !  That  speech  de 
prived  my  reception  of  the  grace  of  exclusiveness,  and  re 
stored  my  mind  to  the  equilibrium  of  impartiality.  I  can, 
therefore,  discuss  the  merits  of  Grant  and  his  great  an 
tagonist  without  bias  in  favor  of  the  former. 

In  comparing  the  two  chiefs,  the  early  advantages  of 
Lee  over  Grant  must  be  regarded.  The  former,  by  birth 
and  breeding  among  slaves,  was  an  aristocrat,  and  he  was 
regarded  by  the  masters  as  the  one  of  themselves  who  was 
best  fitted  to  be  their  leader.  On  the  other  hand,  Grant's 
origin,  manners,  and  personal  appearance,  though  highly 
respectable,  were  not  such  as  could  gain  him  special 
notice  of  any  kind. 

Lee  graduated  at  the  Military  Academy  in  1829, 
second  in  a  class  of  forty-six.  Grant  graduated  in  1843, 
twenty-first  in  a  class  of  thirty-nine.  The  difference  of 
class  standing  was  not  a  prognostic  of  much  value,  but 
Lee's  martial  appearance,  invariable  good  conduct,  and 
Southern  nativity  secured  to  him  the  office  of  adjutant 
of  the  corps  of  cadets,  which  enabled  him  to  practise  the 
art  of  command  in  his  youth.  But  Grant  kept  the  place 
of  a  private  soldier,  and  at  no  time  while  a  cadet  did  he 
exercise  any  official  influence  with  his  fellow-students. 

After  graduating,  Lee's  positions  in  the  army  were  at 
all  times  advantageous.  During  the  Mexican  War  he  was 
attached  to  the  staff  of  General  Scott,  enjoyed  the  full 


Granfs  Early  Career.  213 

confidence  of  his  chief,  and  was  enabled  to  profit  by  a 
knowledge  of  all  plans  and  councils,  and  he  received  more 
compliments  in  orders  than  any  of  his  brother  officers  in 
the  field.  Grant  was  at  the  same  time  a  lieutenant  of  in 
fantry,  and  he  was  once  noticed  for  bravery  by  General 
Scott.  At  other  times  during  the  eleven  years  of  service 
in  the  army  he  was  stationed  at  various  frontier  posts  be 
tween  the  Mississippi  River  and  the  Pacific  Ocean.  The 
monotony  of  garrison  life  oppressed  him  severely,  and  he 
fell  under  the  tyranny  of  strong  drink,  and  finally  quit 
the  service  in  1854. 

His  occupations  in  civil  life  during  the  next  five  years 
after  he  gave  up  his  commission  were  various,  and  he  was 
reduced  to  many  shifts  and  hardships  to  gain  a  liveli 
hood  for  himself  and  family.  But  poverty  was  equally  as 
powerless  to  depress  the  native  vigor  of  his  mind  as  was 
his  addiction  to  drink  to  make  him  reckless.  His  pride 
had  not  degenerated,  and  he  had  overcome  a  tyrannous 
habit,  which  I  regard  as  one  of  his  most  difficult  con 
quests. 

Thus  seasoned  in  the  hard  school  of  penury  and 
neglect,  he  re-entered  the  army  in  1861  as  Colonel  of  the 
Twenty-first  Regiment  of  Illinois  Volunteers.  Many 
young  men  in  the  ranks  of  that  regiment  were  averse  to 
subordination,  but  their  new  colonel,  as  he  remarked,  soon 
"  took  the  nonsense  out  of  them  by  long  marches  and 
hard  drilling,"  and  when  they  crossed  the  Ohio  River  to 
begin  war  Grant's  regiment  was  noticed  for  its  good  disci 
pline  and  efficiency. 

The  Colonel  being  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Brigadier- 
General,  met  the  enemy  at  Fort  Hemy,  and  early  in  Feb 
ruary,  1862,  at  the  head  of  almost  15,000  men,  a  number 
which  was  afterwards  increased,  he  advanced  upon  and 
captured  Fort  Donelson.  The  assailants  of  the  fort  were 


214  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

inferior  in  numbers  to  the  defenders,  who  were  com 
manded  by  a  triumvirate  of  generals — Floyd,  former  Sec 
retary  of  War  under  Buchanan ;  Gideon  J.  Pillow,  who 
figured  in  Mexico  under  Scott ;  and  Simon  Buckner, 
a  West  Pointer,  and  man  of  ability  and  pluck.  The  two 
former  escaped  during  the  night  of  February  I4th,  and 
Buckner  surrendered  unconditionally  on  the  morning  of 
the  1 6th. 

Grant's  difficulties  at  the  siege  of  Fort  Donelson, 
owing  to  the  rawness  of  his  troops  and  the  rigor  of  the 
season,  were  great ;  but  in  addition  to  them  he  was  op 
pressed  with  a  fearful  burden  of  another  character,  which 
was  the  inveterate  partiality  of  the  department  com 
mander,  Halleck,  for  C.  F.  Smith,  who  was  second  in 
rank,  and  who  led  the  principal  assaulting  column.  Hal- 
leek  complimented  Smith,  who  was  a  Brigadier,  for  the 
victory,  recommended  him  for  promotion,  and  ignored 
Grant  entirely.  The  Government  had  the  sagacity,  how 
ever,  to  divine  the  truth,  and  Grant  was  promptly  com 
missioned  a  Major-General. 

It  is  possible  that  Grant's  stupendous  success,  which 
was  magnified  throughout  the  country,  may  have  over 
excited  him,  and  caused  him  to  omit  making  customary 
reports  to  headquarters.  At  all  events,  General  Halleck 
accused  him  of  neglect,  superseded  him  in  his  command 
by  General  C.  F.  Smith,  and  finally,  upon  some  pretence, 
placed  Grant  in  arrest. 

General  H.  W.  Halleck  was  a  man  of  talents  and  a 
patriot,  but  often  a  slave  to  prejudice.  He  know  nothing 
about  Grant's  character,  and  he  wished  to  know  nothing 
good  ;  but  Smith  was  his  favorite.  Every  one  liked  C.  F. 
Smith,  whose  shape  was  that  of  an  Apollo,  and  whose 
disposition  in  peace  was  that  of  a  lamb,  but  in  battle  he 
was  as  fierce  as  a  lion  of  the  Jordan.  When  at  the  head 


Grant 's  Patience.  215 

of  his  column  he  gained  a  footing  within  Fort  Donelson, 
his  appearance  as  he  strode  along  the  ramparts  was  in 
comparably  majestic.  Smith  was  a  friend  of  mine,  and  I 
lamented  his  untimely  death,  which  occurred  in  the  month 
of  April,  1862,  about  two  months  after  his  gallant  exploit 
at  Fort  Donelson. 

Grant,  having  been  released  from  arrest  and  restored 
to  command,  moved  forward,  and  fought  the  battle  of 
Shiloh.  The  commander  opposed  to  Grant  in  that  battle 
was  Albert  Sidney  Johnson,  a  native  of  Kentucky  and  a 
graduate  of  the  Military  Academy.  President  Jefferson 
Davis  regarded  him  as  the  ablest  of  the  Confederate  gen 
erals,  and  at  that  time  many  Northern  officers,  I  among 
them,  agreed  with  him  in  opinion.  Now  I  rank  him  after 
Lee  and  "Stonewall  "  Jackson,  and  the  equal  of  Joseph 
E.  Johnston.  General  A.  S.  Johnson  was  killed  in  the 
battle  of  Shiloh,  and  a  portion  of  Grant's  army  was 
thrown  into  confusion,  and  he  himself  shoved  back,  but  not 
chased  back.  The  timely  arrival  of  reinforcements  under 
Don  Carlos  Buell  enabled  the  Federal  army  to  recover 
from  its  check,  and  the  enemy  retreated. 

Shortly  after  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  General  Halleck  took 
the  field  in  person,  supplanting  Grant,  who  remained 
second  in  command.  During  the  succeeding  two  months, 
although  Grant  remained  with  the  army  in  nominal  com 
mand  of  a  portion  and  of  a  district  of  Tennessee,  Halleck 
quite  ignored  him,  sent  orders  direct  to  his  subordinates, 
moved  detachments  of  his  troops  without  his  knowledge, 
and  on  one  occasion  when  Grant  proffered  advice,  or  rather 
an  opinion,  he  was  snubbed  by  a  hint  that  when  his  ad 
vice  was  needed  it  would  be  asked  for. 

Under  the  same  unbearable  provocations,  Washington 
and  Jackson  would  have  rebelled,  and  the  latter  would 
have  shot  somebody ;  but  all  the  resentment  shown  by 


216  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

Grant  that  I  know  is  reported  in  Sherman's  book:  "I 
can't  stand  this  any  longer,  and  I'm  going  away."  Sher 
man  advised  him  to  be  patient  and  remain.  He  did  so, 
but  was  looked  upon  as  an  officer  in  disgrace,  and  had  no 
more  influence  at  headquarters  than  a  lame  mule. 

Halleck  continued  to  fortify  against  a  retreating  enemy, 
gained  nothing,  so  far  as  I  have  discovered,  but  disad 
vantages,  until  the  month  of  July,  and  being  convinced 
that  to  command  an  army  in  the  field  was  not  his 
vocation,  he  recommended  Colonel  Robert  Allen  as  his 
successor,  and  departed  for  Washington  to  assume  the 
command  of  the  whole  army,  vice  General  George  B. 
McClellan.  Allen  declined  the  command,  and  Grant  was 
restored  to  it. 

The  operations  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  under  its 
new  leader  were  full  of  vigor,  and  in  the  month  of  May, 
1863,  Grant  crossed  the  Mississippi  below  Vicksburg,  and 
placed  himself  between  Pemberton,  who  commanded  in 
that  city,  and  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  who  was  at  the  head 
of  an  army  in  the  interior.  From  the  moment  I  became 
acquainted  with  the  nature  of  that  movement,  I  have  con 
sidered  Grant  as  one  of  the  great  captains  of  history.  The 
story  of  nearly  every  one  of  them  embraces  a  similar  in 
cident.  Alexander  of  Macedon  crossed  the  Indus  to 
capture  old  Porus ;  Scipio  went  over  the  Mediterranean  to 
fight  and  vanquish  Hannibal.  Caesar,  already  as  great  as 
any  man  in  the  world,  crossed  the  Rubicon  and  became 
the  greatest.  Tamerlane  passed  the  Sehon  on  the  ice  to 
die  of  fatigue.  Turenne  crossed  the  Rhine  to  drive  back 
Monticuculi  and  to  be  killed.  Napoleon  fought  his  way 
over  the  Adige  to  enter  the  Temple  of  Fame,  and  at  a 
later  date,  when  success  had  turned  his  head,  he  ventured 
to  the  northern  side  of  the  Boristhenes  to  see  the  lustre  of 
his  star  pale  in  the  smoke  of  burning  Moscow. 


Grant's  Final  Triumph.  217 

It  would  be  foreign  to  my  purpose  to  follow  the  details 
of  General  Grant's  movements  and  strategy  after  July 
23d,  1864,  when  Vicksburg  capitulated.  His  operations 
were  on  a  vast  scale,  and  on  all  occasions  he  displayed  a 
wonderful  military  sagacity,  especially  in  the  neighbor 
hood  of  Chattanooga,  where,  by  a  brilliant  movement,  he 
released  the  army  from  a  perilous  situation.  He  over 
came  the  prejudice  of  General  Halleck,  to  whose  praise  it 
must  be  said  that  after  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  he  de 
ferred  to  his  subordinate's  judgment  without  discussion. 

At  this  juncture,  Grant's  capacity  being  recognized  and 
his  influence  established,  it  seems  fit  that  I  should  mention 
a  circumstance  of  extraordinary  significance  and  highly 
honorable  to  another  man.  During  all  his  early  struggles 
in  the  war  to  do  his  duty  and  to  make  himself  known, 
Grant  had  at  Washington  a  faithful  and  devoted  friend, 
who  foresaw  his  worth  without  trial,  and  who  stood 
by  him  at  a  time  when  ignorance,  envy,  and  detraction 
assailed  and  threatened  to  destroy  him.  Considering  the 
credence  which  was  so  generally  given  by  the  Govern 
ment  to  slanders,  and  the  facility  offered  to  men  without 
scruple  to  climb  to  distinction  upon  the  destruction  of 
their  betters,  it  has  often  occurred  to  me  that  without  the 
active  and  stubborn  support  of  Mr.  E.  B.  Washburne, 
Grant's  aspirations  would  have  been  nipped  in  the  bud, 
his  name  forgotten,  and  his  glorious  deeds  lost  to  his 
country.  Mr.  Washburne's  constancy  and  fidelity  to 
Grant  characterized  his  nature,  in  which  there  is  nothing 
false.  He  was  a  most  useful  and  efficient  member  of 
Congress,  dutiful  and  just  in  all  his  various  official  posi 
tions.  While  he  was  minister  to  France  I  saw  much  of 
him  during  several  years.  His  dignity  was  the  resuli;  of 
intelligence  and  common  sense,  and  the  conduct  of  no 
other  man  in  that  station  has  been  approved  by  a  greater 


218  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

number  of  sensible  men  and  women  than  his.  It  was  the 
country's  loss,  more  than  his  own,  that  Mr.  Washburne 
was  not  made  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  law  creating  Scott  Lieutenant-General  having 
lapsed  with  him,  a  bill  to  renew  it  was  introduced  by  Mr. 
Washburne  and  passed.  Grant  was  promoted  to  that  grade 
and  received  his  commission  early  in  March,  1864,  and  on 
the  8th  of  that  month  he  arrived  in  Washington  to  assume 
the  command  of  all  the  Union  troops  which  were  then  en 
rolled,  to  the  number  of  nearly  600,000  men. 

On  that  occasion  Sherman  wrote  a  letter  of  congratu 
lation  to  the  new  Lieutenant-General,  in  which  he 
ascribes  to  him  an  intuitive  knowledge  of  strategy  and 
the  science  of  war.  The  letter  was  magnanimous  on  the 
part  of  Sherman,  who  followed  next  to  Grant  in  the 
Federal  army  in  renown  and  martial  prowess,  and  who,  it 
is  known,  is  not  deficient  in  self-appreciation.  If  General 
Sherman's  letter  was  sincere,  and  I  am  constrained  to  be 
lieve  it  was,  it  belies  all  the  histories  of  competitive  military 
ambition  that  I  have  studied. 

Lieutenant-General  Grant,  after  a  survey  of  his  vast 
field  of  operations  and  his  mighty  power,  adopted  one 
of  the  numerous  maxims  of  the  great  Napoleon,  and  di 
rected  that  every  one  of  the  department  commanders 
should,  on  the  same  day  and  upon  an  agreed  signal,  move 
upon  a  vital  point  of  the  enemy.  He  himself  in  personal 
command  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  which  was  nearly 
120,000  strong,  crossed  the  Rapidan  early  in  the  morning 
of  May  4,  1864,  and  advanced  into  "the  Wilderness  "  to 
meet  General  R.  E.  Lee,  who  was  his  only  worthy  adver 
sary. 

The  country  between  the  Rapidan  and  Richmond  is 
generally  low  and  flat,  sparsely  inhabited,  and  mostly 
covered  with  forests.  Earth  roads  and  wood  paths  inter- 


Grant  in  1864.  219 

sect  the  forest  in  all  directions,  and  render  the  manoeuvres 
of  an  army  extremely  difficult  and  make  it  liable  to  lose  its 
way  without  guides.  Lee  had  the  advantage  of  numerous 
defensive  works,  previously  constructed,  a  knowledge  of 
the  roads  and  paths,  and  superior  facilities  for  gaining 
information. 

I  shall  not  undertake  in  this  book  to  detail  any  part  of 
the  bloody  tragedy  which  was  presented  on  the  field  I 
have  described  in  the  summer  of  1864.  The  first  act  was 
between  200,000  combatants,  the  majority  of  whom  were 
young  and  middle-aged  men  of  the  most  valuable  classes 
of  population,  North  and  South,  and  all  inured  to  war. 
The  commanders  of  both  armies,  without  a  dissenting 
voice,  enjoyed  the  full  confidence  of  their  respective 
countrymen  and  soldiers.  As  fast  as  battles  and  disease 
thinned  their  ranks,  the  vacancies  were  filled,  and  the 
battalions  of  the  North  much  more  than  filled,  with  re 
cruits. 

Grant,  the  Federal  chief,  maintained  a  pressure  upon 
Lee's  defences  which  knew  no  intermission.  As  a  rule, 
he  would  neutralize  the  force  of  his  enemy's  strongly  for 
tified  points  by  attacking  those  that  were  weaker ;  but 
lest  his  adversary  should  infer  that  he  was  influenced  by 
fear,  he  assailed  the  almost  impregnable  position  at  Cold 
Harbor,  at  a  cost  to  himself  of  7,000  men  at  least,  while 
he  inflicted  but  trifling  loss  upon  the  Confederates.  Grant 
has  been  charged  with  an  unnecessary  sacrifice  of  life  on 
that  occasion,  but  he  must  have  considered  his  situation 
such  as  to  justify  his  conduct.  It  was  a  maxim  with  the 
great  Napoleon,  that  such  rashness  is  sometimes  neces 
sary  for  the  safety,  as  well  as  the  honor,  of  an  army.  The 
sustained  vigor  and  timely  boldness  of  General  Grant  con 
stitute  an  important  factor  in  the  problem  I  am  studying 
in  regard  to  his  supremacy. 


220  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

General  Lee,  from  the  nature  of  things,  was  constrained 
to  imitate  the  example  of  the  Roman  Fabius  against  Han 
nibal,  and  of  Marshal  Daun  against  Frederick  the  Great. 
He  was  defending  interior  lines  against  superior  num 
bers,  and  being  wofully  deficient  in  transportation  it  would 
have  been  madness  for  him  to  sally  out  beyond  the  sup 
port  of  his  ramparts.  Some  of  his  critics,  however,  have 
fancied  that  from  over-caution,  on  two  or  three  occasions, 
he  failed  to  see  opportunities  offered  him  by  Grant  to 
break  through  his  lines  and  harass  the  invader  much  more 
than  he  did.  It  is  barely  possible  that  such  censure  may 
have  been  deserved.  General  Lee  was  overworked  and 
so  dreadfully  oppressed  by  his  responsibilities  that  from 
time  to  time  nature  claimed  its  right  to  repose,  and  occa 
sionally  he  may  have  fallen  into  that  state  which  I  call 
the  syncope  of  the  mind,  a  state  in  which  energy  refuses  to 
respond  to  external  impressions,  however  obvious  they 
may  be.  Where  is  the  man  of  action  who  has  never  ex 
perienced  such  a  state,  and  seen  passing  by  and  beyond 
recovery  precious  opportunities  and  golden  prizes,  which 
in  his  ordinary  condition  he  would  have  easily  appro 
priated?  But,  whatever  may  have  been  the  faults  of 
General  Lee,  it  is  certain  that  he  increased  the  death-rate 
in  the  Federal  army  to  a  degree  that  ought  to  satisfy  the 
most  ferocious  lover  of  slaughter. 

The  series  of  manoeuvres,  battles,  actions,  and  changes 
of  position  in  the  Wilderness,  and  until  Lee  was  driven 
behind  the  defences  of  Richmond,  and  afterwards  till  the 
Southern  Confederacy  heaved  its  last  groan,  have  no 
parallels  on  the  continent  of  America.  They  rank  with 
those  displays  of  martial  genius  of  ancient  and  modern 
times,  which  have  been  the  study  of  military  men  in  all 
ages,  and  the  wonder  of  the  world.  They  remind  us  of 
the  struggles  of  Sylla  when  the  Samnite  Tellesenes  gave 


Grant  and  Lee  Compared.  221 

him  the  slip  and  placed  the  eternal  city  in  such  jeopardy 
that  Sylla  appealed  to  his  gods  to  save  him  and  Rome ;  of 
the  contests  in  Greece  between  Pompey  and  Caesar  be 
fore  the  battle  of  Pharsalia,  when  Pompey's  sycophants 
felt  such  confidence  that  they  lampooned  the  mighty  Julius 
and  called  him  "  a  vendor  of  cities ;"  and  more  than  all, 
perhaps,  they  give  an  idea  of  the  war  of  the  allies  upon 
Napoleon  in  France  after  the  campaign  in  Russia,  when 
that  great  commander's  genius  shone  most  brightly,  fight 
ing  against  fearful  odds  but  to  fail. 

Ours  was  an  intestine  conflict,  and  the  glory  of  the 
actors  loses  a  portion  of  its  lustre  when  we  reflect  that  in 
the  opinion  of  some  men,  if  good  counsels  had  prevailed, 
it  might  have  been  avoided,  and  the  thousands  of  brave 
men  whose  fraternal  blood  seethed  and  impasted  the 
soil  from  Petersburg  to  Richmond  might  have  been 
spared. 

In  determining  the  relative  merits  of  Grant  and  Lee,  I 
have  been  careful  to  consider  all  the  qualities  and  circum 
stances  peculiar  to  each,  and  not  only  the  exploits  of  the 
two  generals,  but  also  their  dispositions  and  tempera 
ments.  The  fact  that  the  former  finally  conquered  the 
latter  is  not  by  any  means  conclusive.  If  I  were  to  see  a 
man  take  up  a  gun  weighing  a  thousand  pounds,  place  it 
upon  his  shoulder,  and  walk  away  with  it,  I  should  know 
without  further  investigation  that  he  possessed  extraor 
dinary  physical  strength ;  but  the  gain  or  loss  of  a  single 
battle  would  not  prove  a  man  to  be  a  good  or  a  poor  gen 
eral.  Hannibal,  Turenne,  Frederick,  and  Napoleon  all 
lost  battles,  and  yet  they  are  cited  among  the  greatest 
captains  of  all  time. 

Wellington  never  quite  lost  a  battle,  but  he  was  seri 
ously  checked,  and  in  this  respect  Grant  resembles  the 
Englishman.  At  the  approach  of  Lee  or  Sherman,  his 


222  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

army  would  shout  more  enthusiastically  than  for  Grant, 
but  when  the  latter  came  up  during  the  fight  the  lines  be 
came  more  steady,  and  the  soldier  would  adjust  his  aim 
with  greater  accuracy  than  before. 

Sherman  showed  wonderful  vigor  and  sagacity  when  he 
pushed  Johnston  from  Chattanooga  to  Atlanta,  but  Grant 
would  drive  his  chariot  through  passes  that  Sherman  would 
not  venture  to  approach.  There  was  an  abatement  in  Lee's 
audacity  during  the  twenty-four  hours  preceding  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg,  otherwise  he  would  have  won  it  and 
gained  the  Southern  cause ;  but  nowhere  can  I  discover 
debility  in  Grant's  movements  or  assaults. 

Grant  could  hold  his  enemy  as  in  a  vice,  with  a  ruth- 
lessness  like  that  of  Tamerlane  or  the  Duke  of  Alva,  and 
when  he  had  accomplished  everything  he  left  upon  the 
mind  of  his  observer  an  impression  that  he  possessed  a 
reserve  of  force  that  had  not  been  called  into  play.  I  am 
constrained,  therefore,  to  assign  to  Ulysses  S.  Grant  the 
highest  rank  as  a  military  commander  of  all  that  have 
been  born  on  the  continent  of  America. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

My  journey  to  San  Francisco.  —  Life  In  California.  —  The  voyage  via  Cape 
Horn.  —  Delay  at  Panama.  —  Anecdotes  of  the  journey.  —  San  Francisco  in 
1849.  —  The  discovery  of  gold.  —  San  Francisco  in  early  days.  —  Fellow  offi 
cers.  —  Expedition  to  the  San  Joaquin  Indians.  —  Treaty  with  them.  — 
Great  fire  in  San  Francisco.  —  California  admitted  to  the  Union.  —  The 
Vigilance  Committee. 


war  with  Mexico  having  been  concluded  by  the 
Treaty  of  Guadaloupe  Hidalgo,  in  the  month  of 
May,  1848,  I  was  relieved  from  duty  at  West  Point,  and 
ordered  to  proceed  with  my  company,  "  M  "  of  the  Third 
Regiment  of  Artillery,  to  California.  Fortunately  forme, 
there  was  a  delay  in  the  arrival  of  my  successor,  and  I 
was  allowed  to  defer  my  departure  until  after  my  com 
pany,  under  the  command  of  my  friend,  Major  George 
P.  Andrews,  had  sailed  via  Cape  Horn. 

The  reports  of  gold  discoveries  reached  New  York 
early  in  the  autumn  of  1848.  At  first  they  were  not  gen 
erally  credited,  but  they  gained  confidence  so  rapidly 
that  when  I  embarked  for  Chagres  on  the  1st  of  Febru 
ary  following,  the  little  steamer  Falcon  was  crowded 
almost  to  suffocation.  Among  that  first  detachment  of 
gold-seekers  there  was  a  greater  number  of  educated 
men  than  were  found  with  any  one  that  succeeded.  The 
steamer  that  was  despatched  from  New  York  to  receive 
the  Falcon's  passengers  at  Panama,  broke  down,  and  we 
were  detained  thirty  days  on  the  Isthmus,  the  climate  of 
which  had  been  represented  to  be  pestilential.  It  proved 
to  be  such  to  a  considerable  number  of  our  people,  but  to 
me  it  was  healthful. 


224  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

There  was  no  railroad  at  that  time,  and  we  were 
obliged  to  cross  from  Chagres  in  boats  to  Gorgona,  and 
thence  to  Panama  on  the  backs  of  mules.  We  spent  two 
and  a  half  days  upon  the  river,  which  is  so  crooked  that 
in  the  course  of  two  hours  the  sun  shone  alternately  upon 
the  prow  and  stern  of  our  boats.  That  was  my  first  tropi 
cal  journey  inland,  and  it  was  then  I  saw  the  flowery  re 
gion  in  all  its  beauty  and  luxuriance,  of  which  those  who 
travel  now  by  rail  can  form  no  conception.  Upon  the 
banks  of  the  stream  in  many  places  were  trees  of  vast 
height,  whose  tops  were  covered  with  roses,  and  their  sides 
hung  with  vines  that  stretched  from  one  to  another  like 
verdant  curtains.  Here  and  there,  strewn  with  profusion, 
were  floral  tints  of  every  hue,  that  gave  to  those  waving 
screens  a  beauty  that  mocks  the  glory  of  all  the  tapestries 
of  Italian  pencils  and  Flemish  looms. 

On  our  way  from  Gorgona  we  stopped  about  midway 
for  the  night.  Lieutenant  May  and  I  spread  our  blankets 
under  an  old  shed  that  stood  on  a  bare  hill  of  moderate 
height.  At  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  May  called  me 
out  to  look  at  the  great  Southern  Cross,  which  I  had  not 
seen  before.  The  night  was  clear,  and  while  I  gazed  at 
the  vast  azure  fields  of  the  austral  heavens,  dotted  with 
stars  of  first  magnitude,  the  cool  air,  laden  with  perfumes, 
refreshed  my  senses,  and  I  was  unconscious  that  the  hu 
man  heart  is  the  abode  of  such  disturbing  passions  as 
avarice,  wrath,  and  envy. 

At  Panama  I  enjoyed  Spanish  cooking  and  agreeable 
associations.  I  had  the  companionship  of  the  naval  and 
military  commissioners  sent  out  by  our  Government  to 
select  sites  for  docks,  lighthouses,  and  forts :  Captains 
Goldsborough  and  Van  Brunt,  and  Lieutenants  Blunt, 
May,  Blair,  Hammenly,  Elliott,  and  Doctor  A.  J.  Bowie, 
of  the  Navy ;  Colonel  Smith  and  Lieutenant  D.  Lead* 


Voyage  to  California.  225 

better,  and  Major  R.  P.  Hammond  and  Doctor  Turner,  of 
the  Army.  Besides  those  there  were  several  civilians  in 
our  circle,  the  most  prominent  of  whom  were :  Mr.  John 
W.  Geary,  the  first  American  Postmaster  at  San  Francisco 
and  afterwards  Governor  of  Pennsylvania;  Messrs. 
Frederick  Billings,  John  Benson,  Rev.  Mr  Mines,  and 
Rev.  Albert  Williams,  Archibald,  Peachy,  Ruth,  Sibley, 
Laffan,  Havens,  and  others.  I  formed  many  lasting 
attachments  among  those  gentlemen,  all  of  whom  are 
dead  with  the  exception  of  Williams,  Billings,  Bowie, 
Benson  and  myself. 

On  the  morning  of  March  12,  the  Oregon,  Captain  Pier- 
son,  was  sighted  coming  up  the  Bay  of  Panama.  Thirty-six 
hours  afterwards  that  vessel  was  steaming  for  California, 
so  crammed  with  passengers  that  there  was  no  room  in  any 
part  for  exercise.  We  called  at  Acapulco  and  San  Bias, 
Mexico,  and  at  San  Diego  and  Monterey,  California.  We 
reached  the  offing  of  the  latter  at  midnight,  and  I  went  in 
the  boat  with  the  captain  to  deliver  the  mail.  As  I 
stepped  upon  the  wharf  I  was  saluted  in  friendly  tones  by 
Lieutenants  Halleck  and  Burton.  They  gave  us  valuable 
information,  and  told  us  the  ship  of  war  Ohio,  under 
command  of  Commodore  Thomas  ap  Catesby  Jones,  was 
in  the  Harbor  of  San  Francisco,  anchored  off  Saucelito. 
We  entered  the  Golden  Gate  on  the  morning  of  April  I, 
1849,  and  I  went  on  shore.  The  first  persons  I  met  were 
Lieutenant  W.  T.  Sherman  and  Captain  Joseph  L. 
Folsom,  who  was  quartermaster.  Sherman  saluted  me 
as  warmly  as  a  brother.  Folsom  was  less  cordial,  but  he 
loaned  me  a  wheelbarrow,  by  means  of  which  I  trans 
ported  my  trunks  to  the  old  Russian  storehouse,  where  I 
slept  the  first  two  nights  on  the  floor,  with  a  bit  of  wood 
for  a  pillow. 

At  the  time  I  landed  there  was  a  scattering  village  or 

10* 


226  Fifty   Years'  Observation. 

pueblo,  containing  seven  or  eight  hundred  inhabitants, 
which  was  called  by  the  natives  Yerba  Buena,  and  by  the 
Americans  San  Francisco.  There  was  not  a  street  that 
was  marked  by  houses  aligned  upon  it,  but  a  survey  had 
been  made  and  pegs  driven  to  show  where  they  were  to 
be.  The  ground  was  covered  with  brush  and  sand  hills, 
and  broken  at  the  north  and  west  by  rocky  heights.  The 
site  was  not  promising  for  a  large  city,  but  subsequent 
labor,  assisted  by  art,  has  modified  it  to  such  an  extent 
that  it  now  seems  both  convenient  and  pleasant  to  look 
upon. 

The  fame  of  gold  discoveries  had  reached  all  the  sea- 
ports  of  the  world,  and  numerous  ships  and  steamers 
came  in  rilled  with  immigrants,  and  laden  with  merchan 
dise  of  every  description.  In  the  course  of  the  summer 
there  were  anchored  in  the  harbor  several  hundred  square- 
rigged  vessels,  the  crews  of  which  had  deserted  and  gone 
to  the  mines.  Many  kinds  of  goods  were  tenfold  in  ex 
cess  of  the  requirements  of  the  people,  especially  wines, 
liquors,  tobacco,  and  framed  houses.  I  purchased  the 
finest  red  wines  of  France  for  $4  a  case  that  would  have 
sold  in  New  York  for  $20.  At  the  same  time,  one  dozen 
fresh  eggs  sold  for  $12,  and  a  cooked  potato  in  an  eating- 
house  or  tent  cost  $i,  and  the  wages  of  unskilled  labor 
was  $16  a  day. 

At  first  nearly  all  the  new-comers  lived  in  tents,  and  the 
scarcity  of  permanent  shelter  induced  many  persons  to 
order  framed  houses,  which,  at  the  end  of  eight  months, 
arrived  in  such  numbers  that  they  were  given  away  to 
those  who  would  take  them  from  the  ships.  I  ordered 
one  from  my  friend  Kemble,  and  when  the  bill  and  plan 

of  it  arrived  in  November,  an  acquaintance  named  G 

begged  me  to  sell  it  to  him.  At  first  I  refused,  but  when 
he  convinced  me  that  it  was  much  better  fitted  for  his  lot 


California  in  i849'-5o.  227 

of  ground  than  mine,  I  consented  to  sell  the  house  to 
him  at  his  own  price,  which  was  its  cost  and  freight  and 
$1,200  profit  to  me.  As  soon  as  he  received  the  bill  of 
lading  and  transfer,  he  said  to  me :  "  I'll  not  sell  this 
bargain  for  less  than  $1,000."  The  house  arrived  in 
March,  1850,  at  which  time  he  could  have  had  another  of 
equal  value  for  the  cost  of  bringing  it  from  the  ship  to  the 

shore.  G thought  I  should  return  the  $1,200,  but  I 

declined,  and  lost  his  friendship.  Seven  years  after 
wards  he  made  an  affidavit  in  "  my  lawsuit "  concerning 
the  value  of  real  estate  in  San  Francisco,  in  which  I 
thought  I  discovered  in  his  estimates  and  suppositions 
that  he  remembered  the  trade  for  the  house. 

The  first  brick  building  that  was  constructed  on  Mont 
gomery  Street,  which  for  many  years  was  the  most  im 
portant  thoroughfare  of  the  city  of  San  Francisco,  was  built 
by  Mr.  William  D.  M.  Howard,  in  1851.  He  employed  two 
surveyors  to  mark  the  west  side  of  the  street,  and  their 
lines  were  about  one  yard  apart.  Mr.  Howard,  supposing 
I  was  a  man  of  science,  applied  to  me  to  make  another 
survey,  which  I  accomplished  after  three  days'  labor.  I 
ran  lines  on  neighboring  streets,  guided  by  the  pegs,  and 
made  measurements,  by  which  I  determined  a  line  that 
fell  about  midway  between  the  other  two,  of  which  I  was 
ignorant.  My  line  is  the  present  western  boundary  of 
Montgomery  Street. 

All  the  men  who  lived  in  California  in  the  year  1849 
arrogate  to  themselves  a  special  glory.  Necessity  con 
founded  all  social  distinctions,  and  civility  of  intercourse 
was  secured  by  the  use  and  display  of  a  pistol  by  nearly 
everybody.  Drunkenness  was  common,  and  assassina 
tions  not  unfrequent.  Otherwise  dishonesty  was  far  less 
apparent  than  it  has  been  since.  The  custom  house  was 
in  an  old  adobe  building  on  the  Plaza,  and  when  I  went 


228  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

there,  as  I  often  did,  I  saw  men  sitting  on  sacks  of  Mexi 
can  dollars  that  were  piled  three  feet  high  along  the  wall. 
There  were  several  rice  tierces  full  of  the  same  coin  stored 
under  a  shed  on  California  Street. 

My  company  of  artillery  arrived  about  the  end  of  April 
and  on  the  first  day  of  May,  1849,  I  was  assigned  to  the 
command  of  the  post  of  San  Francisco  by  General  Persifor 
F.  Smith,  who  was  the  commander  of  the  department  and 
the  successor  of  Colonel  Mason.  With  the  exception  of 
a  short  interval,  in  which  Colonel  Merchant  was  my  supe 
rior,  I  continued  the  actual  or  nominal  commander  till 
1858,  when  I  was  promoted  to  be  major  of  artillery  vice 
Taylor  deceased.  During  the  whole  period  of  over  nine 
years  I  was  twice  absent  on  leave,  about  twelve  months 
in  all,  and  two  years  in  the  field,  campaigning  against  In 
dians.  I  do  not  count  short  absences  on  court-martial 
and  other  temporary  duty. 

Major  Andrews,  assisted  by  Lieutenants  H.  G.  Gibson 
and  William  G.  Gill,  brought  me  a  company  of  86  men, 
all  fine-looking  and  in  good  discipline.  We  began  hav 
ing  dress  parades,  and  doing  garrison  duty  strictly  ac 
cording  to  army  regulations.  Within  a  week,  however, 
the  soldiers  commenced  to  desert,  and  in  a  short  time  our 
numbers  were  reduced  by  two-thirds.  One  night  the 
whole  guard,  including  the  corporal,  went  off,  and  I  de 
spatched  Major  Andrews  in  pursuit  of  the  fugitives.  He 
overtook  them  some  fifteen  miles  on  the  road  to  San  Jose", 
shot  a  couple,  but  brought  back  only  one  wounded  sol 
dier,  as  all  his  escort  joined  the  deserters. 

The  garrison  being  too  much  reduced  for  proper  mili 
tary  service,  the  officers  were  allowed  by  General  Smith 
to  do  something  to  increase  their  pay,  which  was  not  at 
all  proportionate  to  the  cost  of  living  at  that  time  and 
place.  By  good  fortune  I  was  now  at  a  juncture  in  which 


Building  a   Wharf.  229 

I  was  to  reap  the  benefit  of  the  foresight  which  I  had 
exercised  at  West  Point.  In  the  months  of  October  and 
November,  1848,  after  I  received  my  orders  to  proceed  to 
the  Pacific  Coast,  Lieutenant  B.  L.  Alexander,  of  the 
Engineer  Corps,  was  then  engaged  surveying  the  Point, 
and  I  went  out  to  assist  him.  I  not  only  made  myself 
practically  expert  in  running  lines  and  adjusting  the 
theodolite,  but  I  looked  into  a  book  on  civil  engineering. 
Thus  prepared  I  was  ready  to  compete  for  $500,  which 
was  offered  for  the  best  plan  for  a  wharf,  which  a  com 
pany  of  capitalists  proposed  to  construct  on  what  is  now 
Commercial  Street.  I  was  allowed  but  three  days  for 
study  and  preparation,  but  by  almost  continuous  labor, 
night  and  day,  I  was  ready  in  time  and  appeared  at  the 
meeting  of  the  directors  with  an  immense  drawing  and 
voluminous  specifications  for  a  wharf.  Two  or  three  other 
plans  were  put  in,  one  of  which  was  decidedly  preferable 
to  mine  ;  but  its  author  was  a  quiet  person,  and  I,  at  that 
time  of  my  life,  was  noisy.  My  design  being  approved 
and  adopted,  I  was  appointed  superintending  engineer  of 
the  work. 

The  chief  difficulty  was  to  obtain  lumber  for  the  wharf. 
I  canvassed  the  town,  but  failed  to  find  a  man  who  would 
agree  to  furnish  it.  Then  I  crossed  the  Bay  to  Contra 
Costa  and  went  on  foot  to  the  top  of  the  hills,  where 
stood  a  beautiful  and  extensive  grove  of  red-wood  trees, 
not  one  of  which  now  remains.  Mr.  John  Benson  was 
with  me,  and  in  going  and  returning  we  had  great  diffi, 
culty  to 'avoid  the  wild  cattle  that  covered  the  hills  and 
plains,  which  are  now  occupied  by  the  charming  city  of 
Oakland.  Not  succeeding  in  Contra  Costa,  I  visited 
Corta  Medera  and  Reed's  Rancho  on  the  north  of  the 
bay.  At  the  latter  I  fell  in  with  a  discharged  soldier  of 
Stevenson's  regiment,  who  contracted  to  furnish  a  hun- 


230  Fifty   Years    Observation. 

drccl  piles,  to  be  delivered  at  the  landing  in  San  Fran 
cisco,  for  one  dollar  the  running  foot.  I  reported  my 
contract  to  the  directors,  and  they  scouted  at  it,  as  they 
knew  the  contractor  to  be  a  shiftless  fellow.  One  of  them 
said  he  should  feel  happy  if  he  could  be  certain  that  he 
could  live  till  Maple  brought  the  first  pile.  He  was  the 
only  man  who  would  agree  to  furnish  the  material,  and 
he  disappointed  us  all  by  bringing  fifty  good  piles,  and  I 
obtained  others,  as  well  as  the  necessary  square  timber, 
from  Santa  Cruz. 

On  the  fifth  day  of  July,  1849,  ^e  ^rst  P^e  was  driven 
that  ever  stood  in  the  harbor  of  San  Francisco.  That  was 
also  the  date  of  the  first  encroachment  by  any  real  im 
provement  upon  the  area  which  now  embraces  nearly  all 
of  the  wholesale  establishments  in  the  city.  The  tide 
then  came  over  Montgomery  Street  at  Jackson,  and  near 
it  at  the  starting-point  of  the  wharf.  To-day  there  are 
solid  ground  and  Belgian  pavements  at  the  east  end  of 
Sacramento  Street,  eighteen  hundred  feet  to  the  eastward 
of  Montgomery.  In  the  summer  of  1849  tns  intervening 
space  was  the  anchorage  of  a  fleet  of  ships,  many  of  them 
one  thousand  tons  burthen  or  more.  To  fill  up  so  much 
of  the  sea,  mountains  of  sand  and  rocks  were  required. 
The  sand  hill  that  occupied  the  site  of  the  Occidental 
Hotel  was  higher  than  that  magnificent  five-story  struct 
ure,  and  an  almost  equally  spacious  bulk  of  rocks  has 
been  blasted  from  Telegraph  Hill  and  dumped  in. 

I  have  given  the  foregoing  details  to  show  the  enor 
mous  amount  of  labor  that  was  bestowed  by  the  first 
American  settlers  of  the  city  of  San  Francisco.  Those 
who  laid  its  foundation  are  nearly  all  dead,  or  if  alive  are 
seldom  seen.  Something  that  they  strewed  is  gathered 
every  day  by  their  successors,  who  remember  them  not. 
The  history  of  the  first  board  of  directors  of  the  Central 


San  Francisco  in  Early  Days.  231 

Wharf  Company  will  serve  as  an  example  of  the  muta 
tion  of  fortune.  They  were  seven  in  number,  and  they 
were  all  strong,  healthy  men,  and  they  seemed  prosper 
ous — three  of  them  being  the  richest  men  in  the  city. 
Their  names  were  William  D.  M.  Howard,  Joseph  L.  Fol- 
som,  Samuel  Brannan,  Charles  Gillespie,  William  Davis, 
Mr.  Cross,  of  the  firm  of  Cross,  Hobson  &  Co.,  and  Will 
iam  Hooper. 

Mr.  Howard  died  early  of  consumption,  but  left  a  fort 
une,  and  his  grandson  now  enjoys  a  portion  of  it,  and  is 
a  prominent  and  worthy  citizen.  Folsom  deceased  in 
1855,  leaving  a  vast  estate  in  land,  but  so  encumbered 
that  his  heirs  received  nothing.  Brannan,  who  had  the 
largest  income  of  any  man  in  the  city  in  1853,  is  now  the 
possessor  of  nothing  in  California  so  far  as  I  know.  Gil 
lespie  and  Davis  were  rich  and  enterprising.  They  built 
more  than  the  times  required,  and  in  consequence  of  the 
depression  of  values  and  the  fires  in  1851  and '52  they 
lost  and  sacrificed  property  which  is  now  worth  millions, 
but  they  did  not  lose  their  courage.  Mr.  Hooper,  the 
least  wealthy  of  the  seven  directors,  was  an  excessively 
conscientious  man,  He  deceased  in  1866,  leaving  a  mod 
erate  competency  to  his  family. 

The  confusion  of  Spanish  and  American  laws  and  cus 
toms,  and  the  mingling  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
which  were  largely  represented  by  sanguine  adventurers, 
fugitives  from  justice,  and  other  reckless  characters,  gave 
rise  to  much  disorder. 

A  lawless  band,  calling  themselves  " Hounds"  collected 
in  San  Francisco  in  1849,  an<^  bade  defiance  to  the  au 
thorities.  The  "  Hounds"  were  summarily  put  down  with 
out  legal  process.  Again,  in  1851,  the  dangerous  classes 
became  so  audacious  that  a  Vigilance  Committee  was  or 
ganized,  and  several  depredators  sentenced  to  death. 


232  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

Among  the  condemned  were  two  that  had  been  rescued 
by  the  Sheriff,  or  Alguazil,  and  confined  in  the  Broadway 
jail.  One  Sunday  afternoon,  in  the  month  of  July,  while 
the  Rev.  Albert  Williams  was  holding  divine  service  in  the 
prison,  two  solid  young  men  entered  and  joined  in  the  de 
votions.  A  hymn  was  given  out,  and  the  prisoners  stood 
up  in  a  circle  to  sing.  The  strangers,  who  were  members 
of  the  Vigilance  Committee,  managed  to  place  themselves 
respectively  at  the  sides  of  the  two  criminals,  and  with 
pealing  voices  they  joined  in  the  chant.  At  the  begin 
ning  of  the  third  verse  the  two  suddenly  dropped  their 
books,  each  clutched  his  man,  and  rushed  through  the 
open  door  to  a  hack  that  stood  in  the  street,  thrust  them 
in,  and  took  seats  by  their  sides  as  guards.  The  coach 
man  drove  furiously  to  the  stores  that  then  stood  on  Bat 
tery  Street,  between  California  and  Pine,  and  delivered 
his  load  to  the  committee. 

I  happened  to  be  walking  on  Stockton  Street  when  the 
carriage  passed  me,  and  I  followed  with  all  speed.  When 
I  arrived,  although  the  distance  was  not  above  a  quarter 
of  a  mile,  the  two  men  were  hanging  dead  from  the  pro 
jecting  ridge-poles  of  two  adjacent  stores.  Several  other 
men  were  executed,  but  the  vicious  elements  were  too 
numerous  to  be  wholly  subdued,  and  the  orderly  citizens 
continued  to  be  disturbed  by  many  outrages. 

In  consequence  of  the  depredations  of  the  Indians 
in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley,  a  commission  was  sent 
out  from  Washington  to  treat  with  them.  Messrs. 
McKee,  Woozencroft,  and  Barbour  were  the  commission 
ers,  and  a  body  of  200  infantry  soldiers  was  collected,  of 
which  I  was  the  commander,  to  attend  them.  My  secret 
orders  from  General  Hitchcock,  the  commander  of  the 
department,  were  to  obey  the  instructions  of  the  commis 
sioners  so  long  as  they  could  conduct  their  negotiations 


Abstinence  from  Tobacco.  233 

peacefully  and  prevail  with  the  Indians  to  live  on  reser 
vations.  In  case  of  failure  on  their  part  to  accomplish 
that  purpose  without  force,  I  was  to  assume  control  and 
make  war.  No  difficulty  was  encountered  until  we  came 
to  the  camp  on  the  Chowchilla  River.  At  that  point, 
Major  Savage,  who  had  been  among  the  "  Monos,"  re-, 
turned  with  a  report  that  a  portion  of  that  tribe  refused 
to  come  in.  Thereupon  the  commissioners  requested  me 
to  go  out  and  bring  them  by  force.  I  then  exhibited  my 
secret  orders,  and  told  the  commissioners  that  before  mov 
ing  against  the  enemy  my  duty  was  to  conduct  them  to 
a  place  of  safety  in  the  rear.  They  reconsidered  their 
request,  and  in  a  few  days  the  refractory  "  redskins"  were 
induced  to  surrender  and  come  in.  From  that  time  for 
ward  no  similar  difficulty  was  encountered. 

While  we  were  encamped  on  the  south  bank  of  the  San 
Joaquin,  I  remarked  to  Mr.  John  McKee,  who  was  the 
secretary  of  the  commission,  that  the  old  pipe  I  was 
smoking  gave  me  a  heart-burn.  He  said  his  pipe 
troubled  him  in  the  same  way,  and  offered  to  bet  $100 
that  he  would  abstain  from  the  use  of  tobacco  in  every 
form  longer  than  I.  I  took  the  bet,  and  afterwards,  at 
his  suggestion,  agreed  to  limit  its  duration  to  the  time  we 
should  serve  together  on  the  commission. 

Scarce  had  a  week  elapsed  when  orders  came  from 
Washington  to  divide  the  commission.  The  elder  McKee 
and  his  son  and  Dr.  Woozencroft  were  to  go  north,  and 
I,  with  Barbour  and  the  military  escort,  were  to  continue 
and  go  south.  When  the  commission  separated,  I  rode 
down  to  the  crossing  of  the  river,  and  as  we  entered  the 
old  scow  I  noticed  that  McKee  had  a  pipe  in  his  hat 
band.  On  reaching  the  opposite  bank,  he  stepped  ashore 
and  exclaimed  :  "  The  bet  is  ended  !  "  Then  he  rubbed 
a  match  on  the  gunwale  of  the  boat,  lighted  his  pipe,  and 


234  Fifty   Years    Observation. 

from  that  time  till  now  I  have  seldom  seen  him  that  he 
was  not  smoking.  I  continued  to  abstain,  and  have 
never  returned  to  my  old  habit  in  any  one  of  its  varia 
tions.  I  was  obliged  to  practise  great  self-denial  for  a 
long  time,  but  at  the  end  of  seven  years  I  ceased  to  think 
of  tobacco.  It  is  not  difficult  to  interchange  the  habit  of 
smoking,  chewing,  and  snuffing,  but  the  customary  use  of 
the  weed  cannot  be  wholly  renounced  until  after  an  absti 
nence  of  at  least  seven  years.  A  less  time  serves  only  to 
whet  the  appetite  for  a  greater  indulgence. 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1851,  and  the  San 
Joaquin  Valley  was  in  an  absolute  state  of  nature.  From 
Stockton  to  the  Tejon  Pass,  a  distance  of  300  miles,  no 
evidence  of  occupation  by  white  men  was  seen,  save  that 
in  a  few  spots  there  were  ashes  and  charcoal  to  show 
where  a  cottage  had  recently  stood.  Four  miles  from 
Stockton  I  saw  a  band  of  several  hundred  elk,  and  the 
motion  of  their  antlers  as  the  animals  ran  away  was  worth 
a  journey  across  the  continent  to  witness.  Large  troops 
of  wild  horses,  many  deer,  antelope,  and  coyotes  were 
constantly  in  view,  and  upon  each  day's  march  the  land 
scape  presented  a  striking  change  of  attractions  in  the 
flowers  that  overspread  the  ground.  They  alternated  in 
color :  one  day  the  flowers  were  red,  the  next  white,  then 
blue  and  yellow.  The  atmosphere  was  clear  and  whole 
some,  and  our  animals  in  fine  condition.  In  our  wagons 
we  carried  an  abundant  supply  of  wines,  hams,  buffalo 
tongues  and  condiments,  and  a  herd  of  fat  steers  supplied 
us  with  plenty  of  fresh  beef.  Our  hunters  brought  in 
venison,  antelope,  and  birds,  and  everything  conspired 
with  youth  and  health  to  make  me  happier  than  I  have 
ever  felt  in  the  haunts  of  fashion  and  envy. 

I  had  in  my  camp  an  excellent  man  named  Vinconhaler 
for  guide.  We  called  him  "  Captain  Haler."  He  had 


"  Captain  Haler?  235 

crossed  the  continent  twice  with  Colonel  Fremont,  to 
whom  he  must  have  rendered  important  assistance.  His 
ability  to  "  find  paths  "  appeared  to  me  almost  miraculous. 
One  day  while  our  camp  was  on  the  San  Joaquin,  where 
it  issues  from  the  hills,  a  party  of  us  went  down  the  river 
some  twenty  miles  to  hunt  elk  and  antelope.  I  had  a 
large  horse  of  moderate  speed  that  I  had  led  to  the  hunt 
ing  ground.  Seeing  a  band  of  elk,  I  exchanged  my  mule 
for  the  horse,  and  gave  chase.  I  pursued  them  several 
miles,  but  could  get  no  nearer  than  about  200  yards. 
After  discharging  six  shots  from  my  pistol,  and  only 
slightly  wounding  two  of  the  animals,  I  reined  up  and 
dismounted  to  tighten  the  saddle-girth.  The  moment  I 
seized  the  strap,  my  horse  sprang  from  me,  and  ran  off  with 
a  far  greater  speed  than  I  had  been  able  to  get  from  him. 
I  looked  around,  but  was  unable  to  see  on  all  the  wide 
plain  a  single  one  of  my  companions.  It  was  getting  late 
in  the  afternoon,  and  I  was  at  least  twenty-five  miles 
from  camp,  on  foot,  and  alone.  A  dark  cloud  that 
threatened  rain  and  thunder  was  rising  in  the  west,  and 
I  was  hungry  under  such  circumstances,  with  the  almost 
certain  prospect  of  spending  the  night  among  the  wild 
beasts  of  the  field.  I  was  anything  but  cheerful.  I  fol 
lowed  my  treacherous  horse  with  my  eye  till  he  became 
fearfully  small  to  the  view,  when  another  speck  starting 
out  from  the  edge  of  the  horizon  moved  to  intercept  him. 
It  was  "  Captain  Haler,"  who  rode  a  fleet  animal,  and 
found  no  difficulty  in  catching  mine.  He  came  directly 
back  to  where  I  was,  and  I  asked  him  how  he  had  found 
me  so  soon,  as  it  was  not  possible  to  see  me  on  the  ground 
so  far  off.  "  I  followed  the  trail  of  your  horse,"  said  he, 
"  and  that  was  all  I  needed ;  but  it  would  be  safer  for  you 
not  to  quit  the  bridle  the  next  time  you  dismount  to 
tighten  your  saddle-girth."  The  result  of  our  hunt  was 


236  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

one  antelope  and  a  ravenous  appetite  when  we  returned 
to  camp  at  midnight. 

All  the  browsing  wild  animals  afforded  us  pleasure,  but 
the  rattlesnakes  that  were  so  plentiful  in  the  Tulare 
Valley  and  Tejon  Pass  sometimes  caused  us  apprehension. 
One  day  the  soldiers  killed  eleven  of  those  venomous 
beasts,  and  saw  ten  times  as  many  more  as  they  dis 
appeared  in  the  squirrel  holes.  At  mid-day  rest  on  our 
march  over  the  Tejon  Mountains,  a  half-dozen  of  us  offi 
cers  spread  our  blankets  in  the  shade  of  an  oak  tree. 
Some  were  napping,  but  Lieutenant  Gibson  was  awake 
and  resting  on  his  elbow.  In  that  position  he  saw  gliding 
out  from  a  squirrel  hole  that  was  half  covered  by  his 
blanket  an  enormous  rattlesnake.  He  remained  quiet 
till  the  reptile  had  crawled  away  a  few  feet ;  then  he  sprang 
up,  seized  a  club,  and  despatched  him. 

While  we  were  encamped  on  King's  River,  the  soldiers 
captured  a  water  snake,  and  brought  him  in  confined  in 
the  cleft  of  a  long  pole  that  held  him  near  the  tail.  Many 
years  before  I  had  read  in  the  "  New  York  Mirror  "  a 
series  of  articles  to  prove  that  snakes  never  hiss,  and  con 
sequently  that  all  the  poetical  allusions  to  "  hissing  ser 
pents  "  were  false.  I  took  a  long  stick  and  worried  the 
water  moccasin,  and  when  he  became  spiteful  he  made  a 
noise  exactly  like  that  made  by  a  goose  with  goslings 
when  the  boys  and  girls  approach  her,  and  now  I  am  con 
vinced  that  snakes  hiss. 

The  last  treaty  with  the  Indians  was  made  at  French's 
deserted  rancho,  at  the  entrance  of  Tejon  Pass.  Several 
hundred  were  there  assembled,  and  among  them  were  many 
good-looking,  healthy  bucks  and  squaws.  Two  young  girls, 
the  daughters  of  a  chief,  were  admired  for  their  graceful 
shapes  and  the  unrivalled  beauty  of  their  teeth.  All  the 
aborigines  who  were  unused  to  civilization  had  sound 


Indian  War  Dances.  237 

teeth,  but  the  dentists  say  that  as  soon  as  they  adopt  our 
custom  of  eating,  their  teeth  begin  to  decay  rapidly. 
The  diet  of  the  San  Joaquin  and  Tulare  Indians  consist 
ed  of  acorns,  grass  seeds,  with  such  fish  and  game  as  they 
could  catch.  Their  delicacies  were  dried  grasshoppers 
and  a  conserve  of  ants.  This  last  was  highly  prized.  I 
was  told  that  it  had  a  delightful  spicy  flavor  that  re 
mained  long  on  the  palate. 

I  have  seen  the  peace  and  war  dances  and  heard  the 
songs  and  chants  of  some  ten  or  twelve  tribes  of  Indians 
from  Florida  to  Puget  Sound,  and  they  all  differ  in  most 
respects,  but  are  alike  in  some.  Generally  they  danced 
around  a  fire,  and  the  squaws  sat  near  it  clacking 
dry  sticks,  or  rattling  pebbles  or  beans  in  a  gourd,  while 
they  intoned  wild  and  gloomy  ditties.  In  the  war  dance, 
the  braves  distort  their  painted  faces  in  a  way  to  give  the 
fiercest  aspect.  The  one  who  succeeded  best  in  the  camp 
on  King's  River  was  an  old  fellow  who  laughed  with  his 
mouth,  and  at  the  same  time,  with  a  horrible  scowl  on  his 
brow,  he  darted  vengeance  from  his  eyes.  At  the  gath 
ering  near  the  four  creeks  there  were  about  1,400 
Indians,  and  among  them  the  Chief  Pasqual.  His  incan 
tations  in  a  war-dance  surpassed  anything  of  the  kind  I 
ever  saw  before  or  since.  He  was  naked  from  the  waist 
upwards,  and  the  position  of  his  body  and  arms,  and  the 
expression  of  his  face  in  some  of  his  attitudes,  might  have 
served  as  a  model  for  a  statue  of  Moloch.  On  one  occa 
sion  I  held  a  conversation  with  a  chief,  which  tended  to 
prove  the  unity  of  the  human  family.  He  had  uncom 
mon  intelligence,  and  could  speak  Spanish,  which  he  had 
learned  at  a  mission  where  he  was  born,  and  from  which 
he  had  fled  to  the  mountains  many  years  before.  He 
wished  to  know  all  about  San  Francisco  and  the  white 
people  who  were  flocking  to  it.  When  I  told  him  there 


238  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

were  20,000  men  and  scarcely  any  women,  he  looked 
astonished,  and  repeated  my  words,  "  Veinte  mil  hombres 
y  casi  ningunas  mujeres !  "  "  Si,"  said  I.  Then  after 
musing  a  while  he  looked  up  at  me  smiling,  and  said  : 
"  En  poco  tiempo  habrd  bastantes."  (In  a  little  while 
there'll  be  plenty.) 

At  the  Indian  camp  on  the  San  Joaquin  an  old  Mono 
squaw  agreed  to  give  us  her  son  for  a  waiter-boy.  Ac 
cordingly,  the  day  following  she  brought  in  a  youth  of  12 
years  of  age  who  was  as  naked  as  a  fishworm.  We  dressed 
him,  and  kept  him  about  the  mess  till  he  grew  to  be  a  man. 
We  called  him  Sam,  and  he  was  an  untutored  savage  in  the 
broadest  sense  of  that  term.  He  had  never  seen  a  house 
and  only  one  white  man  before  he  was  brought  to  our  camp. 
I  set  myself  to  watch  the  development  of  Sam's  moral 
nature,  and  to  observe  the  characters  which  the  lessons  of 
civilization  inscribed  most  easily  upon  a  blank  human 
mind.  The  boy  left  his  father  and  mother,  his  tribe,  and 
his  country  to  join  us,  without  the  slightest  apparent  emo 
tion  or  regret.  Frequently  at  subsequent  times  I  spoke 
to  him  of  his  parents,  but  could  never  prevail  on  him  to 
express  a  wish  to  see  either  one  of  them,  or  to  relate  to 
me  a  single  incident  of  his  childhood.  The  gloomy 
penury  of  his  own  early  years,  compared  with  what  he 
saw  of  the  happiness  of  children  of  our  race,  made  him 
averse  to  recall  it  to  mind. 

We  made  no  efforts  to  teach  him  letters,  but  he  learned 
enough  of  the  Spanish  and  English  languages  to  under 
stand  what  was  said  to  him,  with  as  much  facility  as  the 
brightest  of  our  youth.  Generally,  the  boy  appeared  to 
be  deficient  in  curiosity,  saving  that  writing  seemed  to 
him  the  most  wonderful  of  all  mysteries.  As  soon  as  he 
had  learned  the  names  of  the  different  officers,  they 
would  write  such  messages  as  they  wished  to  send  by  him 


"  Sam"  239 

on  slips  of  paper.  Those  slips  of  paper  he  would  turn  often 
in  his  hands,  and  when  he  received  the  book,  paper,  or 
other  thing  sent  for,  he  would  break  out  into  a  loud  ex 
clamation  of  surprise.  Laughter  was  not  usual  with  him, 
nor  is  it  ever  much  practised  by  savages.  It  is  peculiar 
to  civilized  beings,  and  is  largely  indulged  in  by  hypo 
crites.  I  have  known  all  the  races  of  mankind  except 
ing  the  Laplanders,  the  Hottentots,  the  Caffres,  the 
Patagonians,  and  original  Australians.  I  have  found 
that  in  all  the  world  the  Americans  laugh  and  smile  the 
most. 

Sam's  giggling  was  not  bestowed  as  we  bestow  it, 
sometimes  to  give  pleasure  to  others,  but  only  to  express 
his  own.  I  never  knew  him  to  laugh  heartily  and  to  con 
tinue  laughing  in  spite  of  himself  but  once.  An  officer 
had  mounted  a  vicious  mule,  and  the  moment  he  was  in 
the  saddle  the  mule  began  to  kick  and  buck  in  a  most 
fearful  manner,  and  finally  succeeded  in  dashing  the  offi 
cer  to  the  ground  with  such  violence  that  I  feared  he  was 
killed.  All  the  while  Sam  looked  on  at  a  distance,  laughed 
as  if  he  would  split,  and  when  the  officer  struck  the  ground 
his  joy  was  without  bounds,  and  he  yelled  and  hopped 
about  like  a  jumping-jack. 

In  his  ability  to  find  his  way  to  any  point  of  the  wildest 
country  that  he  had  once  visited,  and  in  recognizing  men 
and  animals  that  he  had  ever  seen  before,  Sam  was  pre 
eminent  above  all  other  human  beings  I  have  known. 

On  one  occasion  I  went  with  a  party  of  officers  to  a 
clambake  on  the  shore  of  the  ocean.  In  a  space  of  six  or 
seven  miles  there  was  only  one  passage  down  the  steep, 
high  bank  to  the  sea,  and  to  that  we  were  conducted  by 
a  white  guide,  while  Sam,  apparently  half-asleep,  trudged 
along  behind.  A  year  later  I  started  with  the  same  par 
ty  for  the  same  spot.  Arriving  at  a  place  about  five 


240  Fifty  Years1  Observation* 

miles  off  the  high  ridge  extending  along  the  shore,  we 
halted  to  determine  the  ridge  where  we  should  find  the 
pass.  We  all  agreed  on  the  same  point,  and  started  off 
towards  it.  There  was  no  road  over  the  intervening 
country,  but  it  was  crossed  in  every  direction  by  trails 
made  by  cattle  and  wild  animals.  After  going  a  mile 
or  so,  I  accidentally  fell  to  the  rear  and  joined 
Sam.  He  said:  "  Captain,  this  is  not  the  way.  It's 
down  there,  "  pointing  to  a  place  three  miles  to  the 
right.  I  called  a  halt,  and  we  all  again  examined  the 
heights,  and  concluded  we  were  not  mistaken  and  so 
pushed  on.  Sam  made  no  objection,  and  his  face  wore 
its  unchangeable  resemblance  to  a  bronze  casting.  We 
proceeded  three  miles  further,  and  found  out  our  mistake 
after  an  hour's  search.  We  could  not  make  a  short  cut 
owing  to  the  broken  ground,  and  were  obliged  to  retrace 
our  steps  to  the  point  of  our  first  consultation.  When  we 
arrived  there,  having  wasted  three  hours,  it  was  too  late, 
and  we  returned  home  hungry,  and  missed  our  clambake. 
During  my  life,  I  have  known  a  thousand  enterprises  to 
miscarry  because  haughty  men  would  not  take  counsel 
from  inferiors. 

While  in  camp  on  King's  River  a  beautiful  stallion  was 
stolen  from  us.  The  animal  was  as  fat  and  sleek  as  a 
seal,  and  was  often  ridden  by  my  servant  O'Brien.  Two 
years  later  I  was  standing  on  the  sidewalk  in  Dupont 
Street,  and  Sam  was  with  me.  At  that  moment  a  man 
rode  rapidly  down  Clay  Street  on  a  poor,  long-haired, 
rough-looking  horse,  and  was  not  in  our  sight  above  two 
seconds.  Sam  cried  out :  "  O'Brien  horse  !  "  We  followed 
the  horseman  on  a  run,  and  kept  him  in  view  till  he 
turned  into  a  stable  on  Kearney  Street,  and  there  I  recog 
nized  the  stolen  horse  from  a  brand  on  his  flank,  which 
was  on  the  side  opposite  to  us  when  Sam  saw  him.  No 


Los  Angeles.  241 

white  man  in  the  world  could  have  recognized  our  beauti 
ful  stallion  of  1851  in  this  ill-conditioned  beast  of  1853  as 
Sam  did. 

As  Sam  advanced  in  years,  he  began  to  adopt  the  vices 
of  civilization.  He  hated  work  and  loved  whiskey,  and 
ere  long  he  became  a  drunkard,  and  I  then  lost  sight  of 
him. 

We  arrived  in  Los  Angeles  about  the  middle  of  June, 
and  pitched  our  camp  above  the  town,  which  was  then  an 
irregular  cluster  of  adobe  buildings,  most  of  which  were 
one-story  high.  There  were  a  few  gardens  and  vine 
yards,  but  no  made  streets,  and  the  surrounding  country 
was  nearly  all  unenclosed  and  devoted  to  the  pasturage  of 
horses  and  horned  cattle.  Now  it  is  a  large  city  of  brick 
and  stone,  and  the  country  in  spring,  especially  the  valley 
of  the  San  Gabriel,  covered  as  it  is  with  vines,  orange, 
lemon,  olive,  and  other  fruit-bearing  trees,  resembles  an 
earthly  paradise.  In  May,  1881,  Senator  Randolph,  of 
New  Jersey,  passed  through  that  valley,  and  afterwards 
told  me  its  beauty  was  beyond  description.  He  had  been 
describing  half  of  its  charms  in  a  letter  to  his  wife,  and 
she,  without  doubt,  would  accuse  him  of  an  effort  to  imi 
tate  the  style  of  Baron  Munchausen. 

I  remained  about  ten  days  at  Los  Angeles,  and  had  an 
opportunity  to  observe  its  citizens.  Old  Don  Louis 
Vigne  invited  me  to  breakfast,  and  gave  me  some  excel 
lent  sherry  wine  of  his  own  making.  In  the  evening  I 
attended  a  fandango,  and  I  saw  the  ton  of  the  Pueblo. 
Among  the  native  California  seftoritas  were  a  half-dozen 
who  in  any  country  would  have  passed  for  beauties.  I 
engaged  one  of  them  in  conversation,  and  she  with 
tongue,  eye,  hand,  and  sway  of  body,  distanced  all  my 
former  acquaintances  in  expressing  the  seductive  emo 
tions.  In  the  midst  of  her  wavy  prattle,  she  suddenly 


242  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

broke  off,  took  from  the  bosom  of  her  dress  a  couple  of 
cigarettes,  and  offered  me  one,  which  I  declined.  Then 
she  rubbed  a  match  on  the  sole  of  her  shoe,  lighted  hers, 
and  blew  the  smoke  from  her  nose.  After  a  while  she 
rose,  lifted  a  large,  white  wash-basin  pitcher  which  was 
full  of  water,  drank  from  it,  and  passed  the  pitcher  to  me, 
and  I  replaced  it  on  the  window-sill.  Finding  that  this 
seftorita  could  work  up  the  minutest  fugitive  idea  into  a 
long  discourse,  I  left  her  and  continued  my  observation 
of  others.  At  midnight  I  returned  to  my  camp,  musing 
as  I  rode  upon  what  constitutes  fashion. 

There  being  no  further  need  of  a  military  escort, 
Colonel  Barbour,  in  a  note  complimentary  to  the  troops, 
dispensed  with  my  further  service  with  him.  We  em 
barked  at  San  Pedro  for  San  Francisco,  and  on  our  way 
up  the  coast  stopped  off  Monterey  late  in  the  evening.  A 
San  Francisco  newspaper  was  brought  on  board  at  that 
point  in  which  a  map  was  blackened  to  show  the  ravages 
of  the  fire  of  June,  1851. 

In  that  fire  and  in  the  conflagration  of  the  month  of 
May  preceding,  every  building  I  owned  in  that  city  was 
consumed,  and  there  was  no  insurance.  Consequently, 
when.  I  arrived,  instead  of  a  rent-roll  of  nearly  $1,000  per 
month,  I  had  $37,  and  no  more. 

The  ground  remained,  and  I  still  possessed  a  few  thou 
sand  dollars  in  money.  Those  rebukes  of  fortune  not  being 
due  to  treachery,  nor  breaches  of  trust,  so  far  as  the  flames 
were  concerned,  caused  me  no  loss  of  sleep  by  night,  but 
they  made  me  heavy  by  day  for  a  whole  month.  At  the 
end  of  that  time,  while  I  was  walking  alone  on  California 
Street,  despondency  left  me  in  a  moment.  At  the  end  of 
a  year  my  income  was  nearly  restored. 

The  smoke  of  the  recent  fires  had  scarcely  ceased  to 
ascend  (they  had  destroyed  almost  the  entire  business 


Admission  of  California.  243 

portion  of  the  city),  nevertheless  many  new  wooden 
buildings  were  almost  completed  at  my  return.  The 
losses  did  not  appear  to  have  abated  the  enterprise  of 
the  people,  but  their  effect,  and  the  uncertainty  in  regard 
to  the  productiveness  of  the  soil,  was  to  reduce  the 
market  value  of  real  estate  in  some  instances  to  one-tenth 
of  what  it  had  been  in  the  month  of  December,  1849.  It 
remained  low  till  about  the  middle  of  the  year  1853,  when 
it  rose  with  a  bound. 

For  more  than  a  year  preceding  many  good  citizens,  as 
well  as  all  the  office-seeking  politicians — a  class  which  has 
ever  been  superabundant  in  California — desired  its  erec 
tion  into  a  State.  The  matter  was  long  debated  in  Con 
gress  with  unparalleled  bitterness.  The  slaveholders 
sought  to  enshroud  the  whole  territory  which  had  been 
acquired  from  Mexico  in  their  peculiar  institution,  but 
they  failed  to  succeed.  Then  they  undertook  to  secure 
the  portion  lying  south  of  30°  30'  north  latitude,  and 
being  again  defeated,  they  opposed  the  admission  of 
California  into  the  Union  as  a  State. 

In  the  course  of  the  long  delay,  my  friend,  Mr.  Albert 
Priest,  who  was  a  Prussian  and  a  large  land-owner  in  Sac 
ramento,  visited  Washington  to  represent  the  unsettled 
state  of  things  on  the  Pacific  coast  and  to  urge  speedy 
Congressional  action.  He  was  of  a  social  disposition, 
boasted  that  he  had  been  aide-de-camp  to  old  Field  Mar 
shal  Blucher,  and  all  his  gestures  were  military.  I  met 
him  shortly  after  his  return,  and  said  to  him :  "  Mr. 
Priest,  what  did  you  tell  the  authorities  in  Washington  ?  " 
"  I  tell  dem,  ven  you  don't  give  us  laws  you  shall  make 
us  in  a  state  of  siege !  "  This  energetic  appeal  of  the 
honest  ex-aide-de-camp  of  old  Blucher  was  probably  as 
effective  as  would  have  been  a  petition  a  yard  long. 

The  State  was  finally  admitted  into  the  Union  on  the 


244  Fifty  Years*  Observation. 

7th  day  of  September,  1850,  and  when  the  news  arrived 
in  San  Francisco  it  was  followed  with  extraordinary  re 
joicings.  A  ball  was  given  in  the  building  now  standing 
at  the  corner  of  Kearney  and  Commercial  streets.  It 
was  attended  by  a  crowd  of  well-dressed  male  citizens 
and  many  officers  of  the  navy  and  army,  but  the  number 
of  ladies  was  comparatively  small  indeed.  At  that  time 
there  was  not  one  woman  to  fifty  men  in  the  city.  There 
were  a  few  accomplished  ladies  of  excellent  character — 
Mrs.  C.  V.  Gillespie,  Mines,  Vermehr,  Fourgeaud, 
Hooper,  and  a  few  others  whose  names  I  do  not  recall. 
There  were  also  a  number  of  respectable  Mexican,  Ger 
man,  and  French  ladies,  with  whom  I  was  not  acquaint 
ed.  Also  several  handsome  actresses  and  other  females, 
a  portion  of  whom  were  questionable,  but  all  classes  were 
represented  at  the  ball.  Every  man  present  had  a  robust 
appearance,  for  at  that  early  period  puny  men  had  not 
ventured  to  come  to  the  Pacific  coast,  and  gray-haired 
persons  were  seldom  met.  The  dancing  continued 
through  the  night,  and  at  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morn 
ing  there  arose  a  scene  of  drunkenness  which  was  as  bad, 
or  even  worse,  than  I  had  witnessed  in  any  Atlantic  city. 
I  saw  a  naval  officer,  in  full  uniform,  tumble  headlong 
down  stairs.  Being  plump  in  figure  and  full  of  drink,  he 
fell  like  a  rubber  ball,  and  was  not  seriously  injured. 
Since  that  time  the  habit  of  drunkenness,  which  is  not 
encouraged  by  the  climate  of  California,  has  gradually 
subsided  in  good  society,  and  now  an  intoxicated  person 
is  rarely  seen  in  an  assemblage  of  ladies  and  gentlemen. 
The  first  constitution  of  the  new  State  was  a  purely 
Democratic-Republican  charter,  and  it  excluded  negro 
slavery.  The  first  Senators  chosen  were  William  M. 
Gwin  and  John  C.  Fremont,  and  the  first  Representatives 
to  Congress  were  Gilbert  and  Wright.  It  had  been  an- 


California  Elections.  245 

ticipated  by  people  of  a  sanguine  disposition  that  the 
abrogation  of  the  mixed  American,  Spanish,  and  military 
system  of  laws  and  customs  under  which  the  people  had 
groaned  would  immediately  give  place  to  good  order  and 
prosperity  under  the  new  constitution.  That  happy  state 
of  things  did  not  follow  at  once,  but  corruption,  venality, 
and  violence  continued  to  prevail,  as  the  following  inci 
dent  will  prove. 

A  young  protege"  of  mine,  to  whom  I  was  much  at 
tached,  and  whose  name  was  S.  L.  Merchant,  lived  with 
the  officers  of  my  post.  One  of  his  associates  wished  to 
elect  a  certain  municipal  candidate,  and  urged  S.  L.  to 
vote  for  him  ;  and  the  two  young  gentlemen  actually  de 
posited  their  ballots  at  the  Presidio  Precinct  hustings. 
S.  L.,  not  feeling  quite  certain  that  he  had  a  right  to 
vote  in  that  Precinct,  expressed  his  uneasiness  to  me 
in  the  evening.  As  I  had  been  at  the  polls  and  seen 
that  "Yankee  Sullivan,"  who  was  the  most  ruffianly 
pugilist  of  his  time,  was  exercising  the  office  of  judge  of 
elections,  I  advised  my  young  friend  not  to  disturb  him 
self  until  he  saw  the  returns.  They  were  all  published 
in  the  "  Alta  California "  newspaper  of  the  following 
morning,  but  the  name  of  the  candidate  for  whom  S.  L., 
his  friend,  and  eight  or  ten  other  electors  voted,  did  not 
appear  in  the  list  for  the  Presidio  Precinct.  "  Yankee 
Sullivan"  disapproved  of  that  candidate,  and  destroyed 
all  the  votes  that  had  been  cast  for  him.  Similar 
methods  of  election,  by  which  votes  were  multiplied  or 
subtracted  according  to  the  behests  of  demagogues,  con 
tinued  till  many  offices  were  rilled  with  unworthy  men. 
Even  the  judges,  all  of  whom  were  elective,  in  frequent 
instances  were  foul  in  morals,  deficient  in  legal  training, 
and  their  decisions  were  unjust.  Thus  the  beneficence  of 
the  laws  was  countervailed,  and  the  people  were  afflicted 


246  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

with  a  judiciary  unworthy  of  confidence,  and  that  is  the 
most  biting  curse  that  can  befall  a  community  under  any 
form  of  government 

The  year  1853  was  the  most  productive  of  all  in  Cali 
fornia  gold.  It  was  chiefly  washed  from  the  Placers,  as 
few  gold-bearing  ledges  had  been  discovered,  and  the 
methods  of  extracting  it  from  rock  were  defective.  A 
wild  prosperity  prevailed  during  the  last  half  of  that  year, 
and  the  bricklayers  and  carpenters,  who  had  worked  for 
$10  a  day,  struck  successfully  for  $12.  No  reason  could 
be  assigned  for  the  prosperity  of  1853  except  the  rich 
ness  of  the  placers.  The  capacity  of  the  soil  for  the 
growth  of  wheat  and  other  grains  was  neither  known  nor 
considered.  Viticulture  was  at  a  discount,  and  old  mer 
chants  declared  that  good  wine  could  not  be  made  from 
California  grapes.  Nothing  was  thought  of  other  fruits 
as  a  source  of  profit,  and  it  was  anticipated  by  some  that 
all  prosperity  in  the  State. would  be  at  an  end  when  gold- 
mining  should  cease  to  be  remunerative. 

The  appearance  of  the  country  in  the  dry  season  was 
certainly  unpromising.  Many  portions  of  it  were  peopled 
with  hares,  snakes,  horned  toads,  worthless  squirrels, 
gophers,  and  numerous  other  rodents  that  burrowed 
everywhere  in  the  ground  and  dwelt  in  desolate  places. 

Colonel  Barbour,  the  Indian  Commissioner  of  1851,  a 
native  of  the  blue-grass  region  of  Kentucky,  after  travel 
ling  leisurely  from  Stockton  to  Los  Angeles,  declared 
that  the  best  land  he  saw  was  not  fit  to  raise  black-eyed 
peas,  and  that  the  beautiful  flowers  we  had  seen  in  the 
San  Joaquin  Valley  were  all  sterile  blossoms.  I  had  a 
conversation  with  General  (then  Lieutenant)  W.  S.  Sher 
man,  who  in  1853  was  a  banker  in  San  Francisco,  of 
which  the  following  is  the  substance.  I  asked  him  why 
he  had  not  bought  some  of  the  fifty  vara  lots  (square 


Land  in  California.  247 

pieces  137^  by  137^4  feet)  in  San  Francisco  before  the 
gold  was  discovered,  as  he  might  have  had  them  for  $15 
a  lot.  "  Because/'  said  he,  "they  were  not  worth  $15 
before  the  gold  was  found."  I  remarked  that  the  great 
New  York  merchants,  Rowland  and  Aspinwall,  had 
thought  well  enough  of  the  country  without  the  gold 
mines  to  build  three  steamers  to  ply  between  Panama  and 
San  Francisco,  and  to  carry  the  mails  ten  years  for  a 
small  subsidy.  "  Well,"  said  Sherman,  "  if  the  mines  had 
not  been  discovered,  their  enterprise  would  have  failed, 
and  they  would  have  been  obliged  to  carry  back  all  the 
people  they  brought  here  for  nothing,  or  they  would  have 
starved."  Then  I  asked  him  why  he  did  not  purchase 
land,  now  that  the  mines  were  so  flourishing.  "  I  don't 
purchase,"  said  he,  "  because  they  are  higher  now  than 
they  ever  will  be  in  the  future.  The  mines  will  become 
exhausted,  and  in  forty  years  the  country  will  be  a  desert 
again  !  " 

The  great  Daniel  Webster  took  a  similar  view  of  Cali 
fornia,  and  in  one  of  his  speeches  he  declared  that  it  was 
the  poorest  country  in  the  world.  The  two  distinguished 
gentleman  were  deceived  by  lack  of  practical  knowledge 
of  their  subject.  My  faith  in  the  agricultural  wealth  of 
the  country  arose  from  observing  the  abundant  products 
of  the  soil  that  looked  barren,  while  riding  about 
my  post.  I  permitted  a  man  to  fence  in  a  piece  of 
ground  to  the  west  of  the  Presidio,  and  to  cultivate  it  as 
a  garden,  on  shares,  for  the  garrison.  His  fence  enclosed 
a  portion  of  the  sand-hill,  and  upon  that  he  sowed  tur 
nips,  and  watered  the  sand  to  prevent  its  being  blown 
away.  I  saw  grown  upon  that  white  sand,  which  con 
tained  a  natural  mixture  of  marl,  a  turnip  that  was  twelve 
inches  in  diameter.  Another  man  enclosed  a  patch  of 
moist,  sandy  land  near  Washerwoman's  Bay,  and  took 


248  Fifty   Years'  Observation. 

from  it  five  large  crops  of  turnips,  lettuce,  and  radishes  in 
one  year.  Those  examples  convinced  me  that,  with  a 
sufficient  supply  of  water,  California  could  be  made  as 
fertile  as  Egypt  and  as  lovely  in  flowers  as  the  Valley  of 
Cashmere. 

After  the  year  1853  the  production  of  gold  fell  off  an 
nually,  and  as  there  was  not  enough  of  commerce,  manu 
factures,  and  agriculture  to  make  good  the  deficiency,  the 
general  prosperity  of  all  California  declined  so  much  that 
in  the  years  1857  and  1858  there  was  avast  shrinkage  in 
the  value  of  real  estate. 

In  all  periods  of  commercial  depression  and  general 
scarceness  the  vicious  classes  multiply  their  infractions, 
and  become  more  audacious  in  their  attacks  on  the  prop 
erty  and  rights  of  others.  In  1856  crimes  and  assassina 
tions  had  so  increased  in  frequency  through  the  corrup 
tion  of  courts  and  the  tricks  of  blackmail  lawyers — cog 
nate  pests  which  the  infernal  powers  are  permitted  still  to 
retain  on  earth — that  the  orderly  people  of  San  Francisco 
rose  almost  in  mass  to  suppress  the  evils  for  which  there 
was  no  remedy  in  ordinary  forms,  and  to  expel  or  put  to 
death  the  vulgar  criminals  and  the  office-holding  scoun 
drels.  The  immediate  cause  of  the  uprising  was  the  kill 
ing  of  James  King  of  William,  by  a  man  named  Casey. 
King  of  William  was  the  editor  and  originator  of  the 
"  Evening  Bulletin,"  and  he  had  exposed  some  of  Casey's 
doings  in  his  journal  of  the  morning,  and  on  the  evening 
of  the  same  day  Casey  met  the  editor  on  Montgomery 
Street  and  shot  him  dead. 

Mr.  King  of  William  had  been  a  banker,  and  was  in 
duced  to  change  his  occupation  partly  by  the  stagnation 
of  business  in  San  Francisco,  but  chiefly  by  his  taste  for 
journalism.  He  was  a  handsome,  healthy  man,  in  the 
prime  of  life,  uncommonly  active  in  body  and  mind.,  ex- 


The  Vigilance  Committee.  249 

emplary  in  morals,  and  charitable  in  disposition.  His 
sudden  taking  off  by  a  base  assassin  was  the  drop  that 
caused  the  stew  of  corruption  to  overflow.  His  death 
created  a  profound  grief.  It  furnished  a  justifiable  pre 
text  for  vengeance  upon  his  slayer,  who  was  hanged  by 
the  Vigilance  Committee,  which  was  embodied  to  the 
number  of  many  thousands.  The  people  afterward  con 
tributed  a  fund  of  $25,000  for  the  support  of  his  widow. 
The  committee  embraced  a  judicial  organization  of  its 
own,  the  business  of  which  was  to  ascertain  without  delay 
and  by  common-sense  methods  if  the  accused  was  guilty 
of  the  palpable  crimes  of  murder,  robbery,  arson,  or  theft, 
and  if  he  was,  to  punish  him  at  once.  Against  impalp 
able  offences  and  defalcations,  the  wickedness  of  which 
often  tends  to  greater  harm  than  the  former,  their  de 
cisions  were  equally  speedy  and  effective.  Some  of  the 
judges  who  had  toyed  with  evil-doers,  and  expected  tol 
erance,  while  wearing  a  figurative  mantle  called  the  er 
mine,  were  so  terrified  that  they  fled  before  they  were 
formally  charged.  The  committee  maintained  its  opera 
tions  several  months,  and  so  effectively  did  they  cleanse 
the  municipal  and  judicial  departments  that  for  several 
years  succeeding  San  Francisco  was  one  of  the  most  or 
derly  cities  in  the  American  Union. 

In  the  year  1857  the  taxes,  which  had  been  excessive 
previously,were  moderate,  but  they  did  not  long  remain  so, 
since  the  agencies  by  which  shiftless  and  idle  vagabonds 
and  those  that  trade  in  politics  employ  to  extract  the 
fruits  of  industry  from  the  producers,  are  living  forces 
against  which  an  eternal  warfare  must  always  be  waged. 

It  was  not  my  privilege  to  take  any  direct  part  in  the 
glorious  operations  of  the  Vigilance  Committee  of  1856, 
as  I  was  all  the  time  of  its  continuance  absent  in  Wash 
ington  Territory  fighting  Indians. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

'Indian  campaigns  on  the  Pacific  Coast.—  Expedition  to  Fort  Vancouver.  — 
Indian  Fighting.—  Return  to  San  Francisco.  —  Steptoe's  disaster  in  Wash 
ington  Territory.  —  General  Clark's  move.  —  At  the  Dalles.  —  The  march  to 
Walla  Walla.—  Cceur  d'Alene.—  More  Indian  Fighting.—  Colonel  Wright. 
—  Harney. 


EGARDING  the  outbreak  of  the  Indians  in  the 
JL\.  Puget  Sound  district  of  Washington  Territory, 
which  occurred  in  1855,  and  the  war  which  followed,  I 
shall  confine  my  remarks  to  a  limited  space.  The  hostili 
ty  of  the  tribes  was  so  general  in  all  the  Territory,  and 
their  devastations  so  cruel  in  many  places,  that  General 
John  E.  Wool,  who  commanded  the  Department  of  the 
Pacific,  thought  it  requisite  to  repair  in  person  to  Fort 
Vancouver.  My  company,  "  M,"  Third  Regiment  of  Ar 
tillery,  embarked  with  him  on  board  the  steamer  Cali 
fornia,  Captain  William  E.  Ball,  and  proceeded  north 
ward,  early  in  November,  1855.  We  arrived  off  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  River  in  the  afternoon, 
and  although  a  fierce  wind  had  covered  the  whole  bar 
from  shore  to  shore  and  for  several  miles  up  and  down 
with  a  white  foam,  it  was  decided  to  cross  at  once.  There 
happened  to  be  a  pilot  on  board,  and  he  and  the  captain 
stood  together  on  the  bridge.  The  head  of  steam  was  in 
creased  to  secure  steerage-way  in  the  billows,  and  we 
moved  up  against  a  strong  ebb  tide  at  a  fair  rate  of 
speed  till  we  reached  about  midway  in  the  passage,  when 
a  flue  collapsed,  drove  all  the  burning  coals  from  under 
one  of  the  boilers,  and  set  fire  to  the  ship,  which  immedi- 


Fire  on  Shipboard.  251 

atejy  lost  headway  so  much  that  she  ceased  for  a  moment 
to  obey  her  rudder.  The  pilot  lost  courage,  exclaimed, 
"  She's  a  goner !  "  and  started  down  from  the  bridge. 
Captain  Ball  instantly  resumed  command,  called  out  to 
the  firemen  to  feed  the  remaining  fires  with  lard  and  tal 
low,  and  after  a  few  seconds  the  ship  began  to  move  for 
ward,  and  at  the  end  of  an  hour  we  were  anchored  off 
Astoria. 

When  the  steamer  lost  headway  the  lead  showed  a 
draught  of  water  almost  exactly  corresponding  with  that 
of  the  vessel,  but  fortunately  she  did  not  ground.  If  she 
had  struck,  not  a  soul  on  board  could  by  possibility  have 
been  saved.  Some  of  the  soldiers,  as  they  saw  the  pilot 
quitting  his  post,  came  to  me  in  terror,  and  asked 
what  they  should  do.  I  replied,  "  Take  hold  of  that  hose 
and  let  us  put  out  that  fire  in  the  hold."  I  carried  the 
end  of  the  hose  down  the  steps  as  far  as  I  could  breathe, 
the  men  pumped,  and  in  a  short  time  the  flames  were  ex 
tinguished.  General  Wool  was  perfectly  calm,  as  were  the 
other  officers,  but  it  is  certain  none  of  us  ever  escaped  a 
greater  danger  than  on  that  occasion,  and  such  was  the 
opinion  of  the  eight  or  ten  shipmasters  who  were  among 
the  passengers.  Captain  Ball's  intrepidity  was  the  admi 
ration  of  every  man  on  board  the  ship. 

From  the  Columbia  River,  'General  Wool  ordered  me 
to  proceed  in  another  transport  to  Steilacoom  and  assume 
command  of  the  Puget  Sound  Bistrict.  I  arrived  there 
on  the  24th  day  of  November,  1855,  and  found  a  con 
dition  of  wild  alarm.  Many  families  had  been  massacred, 
and  the  surviving  settlers  were  all  collected  in  the  small 
towns.  There  were  only  two  skeleton  companies  of 
regular  infantry  and  a  few  companies  of  volunteers  in  the 
district,  and  they  were  widely  scattered.  Lieutenant 
Slaughter,  with  one  company,  guarded  a  stockade  at  the 


252  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

north  of  the  Puyallup,  and  I  arranged  an  interview  with 
him  with  the  aid  of  a  friendly  Indian.  I  went  out  twenty 
miles  from  Fort  Steilacoom,  and  conversed  with  him 
across  the  river,  which  was  so  deep  and  rapid  that  my 
volunteer  messenger,  after  delivering  my  note  to  Slaugh 
ter,  lost  his  horse  in  returning,  but  saved  himself. 
Slaughter  assured  me  that  he  was  safe  from  attack  in  his 
strong  block-house,  with  plenty  of  supplies,  and  that, 
owing  to  the  high  state  of  the  water  in  the  streams  and 
the  smallness  of  my  force  in  men  and  animals,  it  would 
be  folly  to  invade  the  Indian  country  before  the  arrival 
of  reinforcements,  and  the  subsidence  of  the  streams. 
Recommending  caution  and  vigilance  on  his  part,  I  re 
turned  to  my  post. 

Four  days  later,  to  wit,  on  the  4th  of  December, 
Lieutenant  Slaughter  was  killed  by  a  party  of  Indians, 
headed  by  the  famous  Klicitat  Chief,  Kanaskat.  As 
William  A.  Slaughter  was  a  graduate  of  the  West  Point 
Military  Academy  of  the  class  of  1848,  and  a  pupil  of 
mine,  I  will  transcribe  the  circumstances  of  his  death 
from  my  journal. 

"December*],  1855. — At  about  4.30  to-day,  news  was 
brought  that  Lieutenant  Slaughter,  4th  Infantry,  had 
been  shot  by  the  Indians.  On  the  3d  instant  he  left  his 
camp  at  Morrison's,  near  the  Puyallup,  with  fifty-four 
soldiers.  He  had  with  him  Lieutenant  James  E.  Harri 
son  of  the  marine  corps,  and  Dr.  Taylor  of  the  navy.  On 
the  afternoon  of  the  4th  they  arrived  at  a  deserted  farm 
on  Brannan's  Prairie,  which  is  two  miles  from  the  fork  of 
White  and  Green  rivers,  where  there  is  a  post  com 
manded  by  Captain  Hewett  of  the  volunteers.  Hewett 
came  up  to  see  Slaughter,  and  to  tell  him  he  had  been 
scouting  over  the  neighborhood  all  day,  and  that  he 
found  no  signs  of  Indians.  As  Slaughter,  who  had  come^ 


Death  of  Lieut.  Slaughter.  253 

from  another  direction,  discovered  none,  they  considered 
themselves  safe,  and  they  allowed  fires  to  be  built  and 
kept  burning  long  after  dark.  In  this  they  made  a  fatal 
mistake,  as  among  hostile  savages  there  is  no  safety  ex 
cept  by  keeping  dark  and  well  guarded.  This  I  had 
learned  from  my  service  in  Florida,  and  that  in  a  cam 
paign  against  Indians,  the  front  is  all  around,  and  the 
rear  nowhere. 

"  The  men  were  busy  cooking  their  suppers,  and  the  offi 
cers,  Slaughter,  Hewett,  Harrison,  and  Taylor,  were  con 
versing  in  a  small  log  hut,  which  stood  near  the  fence  at 
the  edge  of  the  prairie.  All  this  while  a  band  of  red 
skins,  directed  by  Kanaskat,  were  creeping  up  and  ar 
ranging  themselves  in  a  thicket  of  brush  and  tall  grass 
that  stood  a  hundred  yards  distant.  The  sentinel  had 
noticed  the  rustling  of  the  grass,  and  heard  what  he  sup 
posed  was  the  grunting  of  hogs,  and  as  the  settlers  had 
often  left  their  animals  at  their  farms,  he  paid  no  atten 
tion  to  those  noises.  At  a  little  past  seven  o'clock,  the 
Indians  fired  a  volley,  aimed  mostly  at  the  hut.  One 
bullet  passed  between  the  logs  and  directly  through 
Slaughter's  heart.  He  fell  over  and  expired  in  a  minute. 
His  only  words  were :  '  Take  care  of  yourselves,  I  am 
dying!'  Two  corporals  were  killed  outright,  and  four 
private  soldiers  wounded,  one  of  whom  died  the  following 
day.  After  a  single  volley  the  Indians  withdrew." 

Among  the  Indian  chiefs  of  the  Puget  Sound  district 
were  five  whose  names  were  on  every  tongue.  These  were 
Pat  Kanim,  Kanaskat,  Kitsap,  Quimelt,  and  Leschi.  Pat 
Kanim  remained  friendly,  although  he  confessed  to  me 
that  he  had  two  turn  turns  (hearts),  one  of  which  inclined 
him  to  fight  the  Bostons  (whites),  and  the  other  to  keep 
the  peace  because  he  thought  them  too  strong!  The 
other  four  were  hostile,  and  Kanaskat,  above  the  others. 


254  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

was  the  most  deadly  foe  to  our  race.  This  chief  was  en- 
gaged  in  nearly  all  the  murders  that  brought  on  the  con 
flict.  He  was  not  only  noted  for  the  ingenious  devices  of 
torture  that  he  would  practise  on  his  victims,  but  for  the 
ferocious  pertinacity  with  which  he  began  and  continued 
the  war.  He  boasted  that  he  could  prolong  it  five  years, 
and  that  no  bullet  could  kill  him. 

Cutmouth  John  and  other  messengers  who  came  to  me 
from  the  hostile  camp  all  gave  the  same  account  of 
Kanaskat.  He  would  have  nothing  to  say  about  peace, 
but  would  sit  apart  in  obstinate  sulkiness.  Kanaskat's  rep 
utation  extended  beyond  the  mountains,  and  Ohwi  sent  his 
son  Qualchein  and  another  young  brave  from  the  Yackima 
country  to  learn  from  him  the  art  of  fighting  in  the  night 
time.  He  was  a  model  Indian  patriot,  hardy  and  enter 
prising,  perfect  in  feral  stealth,  and  vengeance  was  his 
ruling  quality.  He  hated  all  the  white  settlers,  and 
rather  than  they  should  possess  his  country  he  preferred 
to  perish.  It  chanced  that  I  laid  the  plan  which  resulted 
in  the  death  of  Kanaskat,  as  will  appear  from  the  follow 
ing  account  which  I  wrote  in  my  journal  the  day  it  oc 
curred. 

I  transcribe  all  the  facts  as  then  recorded : 

Colonel  Silas  Casey,  of  the  gth  Infantry,  having  arrived 
with  reinforcements  of  men  and  animals,  a  force  under 
his  command  left  Fort  Steilacoom  on  the  26th  of  February 
1846,  to  operate  against  the  Indians.  We  crossed  the 
Puyallup  at  a  point  eighteen  miles  distant  to  a  post  com 
manded  by  Captain  Maurice  Malony.  Here  we  remained 
till  the  morning  of  the  28th,  and  then  marched  eight 
miles  up  the  right  bank  to  Lemmon's  Prairie,  and  pitched 
our  tents. 

Lemmon's  Prairie  is  small,  and  at  that  time  it  was 
bordered  with  a  fringe  of  trees  and  bushes  on  the  side  of 


At  Lemmorfs  Prairie.  255 

the  river,  from  which  it  is  distant  about  half  a  mile.  On 
the  opposite  side  was  a  wooded  steep  hill,  at  the  base  of 
which  was  a  narrow  stream  spanned  by  a  bridge  of  logs. 
From  thence  a  wood  road  wound  up  the  hill  into  the 
country  of  the  hostiles. 

Being  second  in  command,  I  was  detailed  officer  of  the 
day,  and  became  responsible  for  the  safety  of  the  camp. 
After  guard  mounting,  I  took  with  me  the  non-commis 
sioned  officers,  and  with  them  made  the  entire  circuit  of 
the  camp,  keeping  within  and  near  the  fringe  of  trees 
and  brush  all  the  way  around.  On  the  river  side  I  ordered 
single  sentinels  to  be  posted,  but  on  the  slope  of  the  hill 
I  found  two  points  from  which  an  enemy  might  fire  upon 
the  tents.  At  the  first  I  ordered  three  guards  to  be  posted, 
of  which  one  sentinel  would  stand  in  a  spot  which  I  indi 
cated,  and  the  other  two  would  lie  down  near  by.  Then 
proceeding  along  150  yards,  I  came  to  the  trail  leading  up 
the  hill,  and  selected  another  post  for  three  men  as  at  the 
first.  From  this  the  sentinel  could  look  up  the  road  100 
yards  to  where  it  made  an  angle  to  the  left.  After  that, 
I  continued  my  circuit  to  a  spot  where  I  obtained  a  view 
up  the  road  beyond  the  elbow.  It  was  in  a  small  open 
space,  near  a  large  tree  from  the  shadow  of  which  an 
Indian  could  watch  the  officers  coming  out  of  their  tents 
at  break  of  day,  fire  on  them,  and  retreat  in  safety.  I 
therefore  ordered  Sergeant  Newton  of  my  company,  who 
was  the  chief  non-commissioned  officer  of  the  guard,  to 
establish  the  picket  here  instead  of  at  the  crossing  of  the 
trail.  The  sergeant  differed  so  strongly  in  opinion  from 
me  that  he  ventured  to  remonstrate,  but  I  over-ruled 
him,  and  told  him  that  the  place  where  we  stood  was  de 
cidedly  the  best  of  all,  and  that  good  men  must  occupy  it. 
I  gave  minute  directions  for  the  sentinel  to  stand  near 
the  trunk  of  the  tree,  and  watch  the  road  up  the  hill 


256  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

above  the  turn,  for  if  the  Indians  came  they  must  cer 
tainly  come  that  way. 

Having  completed  the  circuit  of  the  camp,  and  made 
myself  acquainted  with  every  possible  approach  to  it,  I 
returned  and  made  another  inspection  of  the  guard.  Ob 
serving  that  Private  Kehl,  of  Company  D,  of  the  Qth 
Infantry,  had  a  determined  countenance,  I  selected  him 
for  one  of  the  important  picket  guards.  Then  I  addressed 
the  men  as  follows :  (I  will  copy  here  the  exact  words  of 
my  journal)  "You  must  take  care  to-night  not  to  make  a 
false  alarm.  I  am  the  officer  of  the  day,  and  should  con 
sider  myself  disgraced  by  a  false  alarm.  Be  sure  that  you 
fire  at  nothing  but  an  Indian,  and  be  sure  also  if  you  do 
fire  that  you  get  him." 

Private  Kehl,  with  his  two  companions,  went  to  the 
post  assigned  them,  and  in  the  morning,  soon  after  five 
o'clock,  Kehl  was  standing  sentinel  under  the  tree.  It 
was  before  daybreak,  but  the  cooks  had  already  lighted 
their  fires,  and  the  watchful  soldier  saw  a  gleam  of  light 
reflected  from  the  barrel  of  a  rifle  a  hundred  yards  up  the 
trail  beyond  the  bend.  Then  in  a  few  minutes  he  saw 
five  Indians  in  single  file  creeping  stealthily  down  the 
hill.  The  one  in  front  was  waving  his  right  hand  back 
ward  to  caution  the  four  who  followed  him.  Kehl  stood 
motionless  till  the  leader  came  nearly  abreast  of  him  ; 
then  with  deliberate  aim  he  fired,  and  the  great  chief 
Kanaskat  fell.  At  the  report  of  his  shot,  I  ran  out  to  the 
bridge,  where  I  heard  Sergeant  Newton  forty  yards  be 
yond  cry  out,  "  We've  got  an  Indian !  "  He  and  another 
man  were  dragging  him  along  by  the  heels.  The  savage 
had  been  shot  through  the  spine,  and  his  legs  were  para 
lyzed,  but  the  strength  of  his  arms  and  voice  was  not 
affected.  He  made  motions  to  draw  a  knife.  I  ordered 
two  soldiers  to  hold  him,  and  it  required  all  their  strength 


Death  of  Kanaskat.  257 

to  do  so.  As  they  dragged  him  across  the  bridge,  I 
followed,  and  he  continued  to  call  out  in  a  language  I  did 
not  understand.  Some  one  came  up  who  recognized 
the  wounded  Indian,  and  exclaimed,  "  Kanaskat ! " 
"  Nawitka  !  "  said  he  with  tremendous  energy,  his  voice 
rising  to  a  scream — "  Kanaskat — Tyee — Mamelouse  nica — 
nica  mamelouse  Bostons  " — yes,  Kanaskat — chief — Kill  me, 
I  kill  Bostons.  He  added,  "  My  heart  is  wicked  towards  the 
whites,  and  always  will  be,  and  you  had  better  kill  me." 
Then  he  began  to  call  out  in  his  native  language,  not  a 
word  of  which  could  any  of  us  understand.  I  ordered  two 
soldiers  to  stop  his  mouth,  but  they  were  unable  to  do  so. 
He  appeared  to  be  yelling  for  his  comrades,  and  two 
other  shots  were  fired  from  the  pickets  on  the  hill,  when 
Corporal  O'Shaughnessy,  who  was  standing  by,  placed 
the  muzzle  of  his  rifle  close  to  the  chieftain's  temple,  blew 
a  hole  through  his  head,  and  scattered  the  brains  about. 

During  all  the  frantic  imprecations  of  the  prostrate 
savage,  I  was  standing  only  two  yards  from  his  feet,  look 
ing  at  his  face.  I  have  seen  men  in  rage,  and  women  in 
despair,  and  maniacs,  but  never  before  did  I  gaze  on  a 
human  countenance  in  which  hate  and  blasted  hope  were 
so  horribly  depicted,  as  in  that  of  Kanaskat.  It  seemed 
to  me,  while  I  was  regarding  the  fierce  contortions  and 
burning  gaze  of  the  dying  chief,  that  I  was  in  the  presence 
of  a  defiant  demon  whose  fitting  habitation  was  the  most 
fulgent  cavern  of  Hell. 

After  death  the  countenance  of  Kanaskat  wore  the  ex 
pression  nafural  to  it  in  life,  saving  that  the  infernal  fires 
that  glowed  from  the  depth  of  his  eyeballs  had  gone  out 
with  the  vital  spark.  There  was  a  diabolical  fascination 
in  the  massive  jaw, 'fixed  scowl,  and  bronzed  skin  of  the 
monster's  visage,  that  drew  me  to  cross  the  field  several 
times  to  gaze  on  it  where  he  lay,  face  up  and  eyes  wide 


258  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

open.  I  even  dismounted  from  my  horse,  when  ready  to 
march,  and  wandered  apart  to  look  on  him  once  more. 
It  seemed  that  every  moment  of  his  life  had  deposited  a 
particle  of  matter  to  form  a  perfect  image  of  vengeance. 
There  was  no  line  that  pity  or  tenderness,  or  holy  medi 
tation  had  ever  traced  upon  it.  It  presented  a  scene  of 
absolute  moral  desolation  more  awful  than  the  Dead  Sea 
or  the  crater  of  Etna. 

Regarding  the  carcass  of  the  dead  chief  as  that  of  an 
unclean  animal  that  men  hunt  for  the  love  of  havoc,  we 
left  it  in  the  field  unburied,  and  went  on  our  way  to  fight 
his  people. 

Leaving  Lemmon's  Prairie  on  the  morning  of  March  I, 
we  advanced  into  the  enemy's  country,  and  at  mid-day 
we  were  met  by  two  messengers,  a  white  man  and  an 
Indian,  sent  by  Lieutenant  A.  V.  Kautz  of  the  Qth  In 
fantry,  to  inform  us  that  he,  with  his  company,  was  held 
at  bay  on  the  right  bank  of  White  River  by  a  large  body 
of  Indians.  Kautz's  men  were  intrenched  within  a  huge 
pile  of  dead  timber  and  trees  that  had  collected  on  the 
edge  of  the  stream.  Colonel  Casey  immediately  detached 
me  with  fifty-four  soldiers  to  go  to  his  relief.  I  took  the 
Indian  boy,  who  was  only  fifteen  years  old,  for  guide. 
We  pushed  forward  with  all  possible  speed  a  distance  of 
eighj  or  nine  miles,  but  instead  of  leading  me  to  the  ford, 
the  young  rascal  conducted  us  to  a  point  half  a  mile 
below,  where  the  contracted  torrent  was  absolutely  im 
passable.  I  called  the  boy  to  me  and  told  him  to  show 
me  the  crossing,  or  I  would  shoot  him  on  the  spot.  He 
replied,  4t Nica  cumtux"  (I  know),  and  led  the  way 
through  the  woods  to  a  place  where  the  river  spread  out 
to  three  times  its  width  below.  I  ordered  the  soldiers  to 
fasten  their  cartridge-boxes  about  their  shoulders,  and 
then  we  dashed  in  and  passed  over  without  accident,  al- 


White  River.  259 

though  the  water,  which  was  ice-cold,  came   up  to  the 
armpits  of  the  short  men,  and  ran  like  a  mill-race. 

Between  the  water's  edge  and  the  bluff  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river  was  a  grass-covered  slope  about  two 
hundred  yards  wide.  The  bluff  or  bank  was  not  high,  and 
it  was  so  thickly  covered  with  trees  and  brush  that  not  an 
enemy  could  be  seen.  I  deployed  my  men  as  skirmishers, 
and  Kautz,  who  had  left  the  wood-pile,  did  the  same, 
and  I  ordered  the  whole  to  charge.  The  Indians  fired  a 
volley,  enough  to  kill  every  one  of  us,  but  they  aimed 
too  high,  and  only  one  man  was  struck,  and  that  was 
Lieutenant  Kautz.  A  rifle-ball  passed  through  his  leg, 
but  I  was  not  aware  that  he  had  been  wounded  until  the 
battle  was  over.  After  one  discharge,  the  Indians  ran, 
and  we  pursued  them  through  the  woods  half  a  mile,  at 
double  quick  time,  to  the  base  of  a  steep  hill,  on  the  brow 
of  which  they  made  a  stand,  and,  with  derisive  epithets, 
dared  us  to  come  on.  The  slope  of  the  hill  for  a 
distance  of  200  yards  was  bare,  and  at  the  top  were 
many  large  standing  and  fallen  trees,  which  afforded 
cover  to  the  enemy  and  gave  him  a  great  advantage. 
Lieutenant  David  B.  McKibbin  of  Kautz's  Company,  Qth 
Infantry,  was  in  line  with  the  front  rank,  and  when  half 
way  up  the  slope  the  savages  arose  with  a  whoop  and 
opened  fire.  Several  soldiers  fell,  but  McKibbin's  gal 
lantry  encouraged  the  others,  and  not  one  flinched.  I 
was  at  the  moment  just  coming  up  the  slope  of  the  hill, 
and  we  all  pressed  forward,  and  in  a  short  time  our 
victory  was  complete.  Our  number  engaged  was  100, 
and  we  lost  two  killed  and  eight  wounded.  The  smallness 
of  our  loss  was  probably  due  to  the  bravery  of  the  men, 
who  rushed  upon  the  Indians,  disconcerting  them,  and 
fifty  of  their  shots  went  over  our  heads  for  every  one  that 
took  effect. 


260  Fifty  Years1  Observation. 

The  death  of  their  most  warlike  chief,  and  the  decisive 
victory  we  achieved  on  the  first  of  March,  dismayed  the 
redskins,  and  thereafter  all  their  energies  were  exerted  to 
avoid  a  battle  with  the  regulars,  although  they  fought 
afterwards  with  the  volunteers.  We  hunted  and  pursued 
them  almost  without  intermission  night  or  day  for  two 
months,  over  hills  and  dales,  through  swamps  and 
thickets.  It  rained  more  than  half  the  time,  and  the  in 
fluence  of  Mount  Regnier  and  its  vast,  eternal  covering 
of  snow  upon  the  temperature  made  the  nights  exces 
sively  cold.  Such  was  our  liability  to  surprise,  that  we 
were  obliged  to  be  ready  to  fight  at  all  times,  and  there 
was  not  an  hour  of  darkness  during  the  active  operations 
that  I  could  not  have  stood  outside  my  tent  equipped  at 
the  end  of  one  minute  from  the  first  sound  of  alarm. 
The  hardships  of  that  campaign,  in  which  the  pluck  and 
endurance  of  Kautz,  Sukely,  Mendell,  and  several  others 
were  so  severely  tested,  caused  me  afterwards  to  regard 
the  seven  days'  fight  before  Richmond  as  a  comparative 
recreation.  I  was  the  second  in  rank  to  Colonel  Silas 
Casey,  who  had  had  much  experience  on  the  frontiers. 
My  position  was  one  which,  in  the  army,  frequently  pro 
vokes  grumbling  and  censoriousness,  but  I  found  no  fault 
with  his  arrangements,  and  thought  he  displayed  decided 
ability  in  the  conduct  of  his  campaign.  A  year  later  I 
had  a  conversation  in  San  Francisco  with  Colonel  Casey 
as  he  was  embarking  for  Washington.  He  then  stated  to 
me  that  tile-victory  of  March  1st,  1856,  in  which  I  com 
manded,  saved  the  Government  not  less  than  $5,000,000. 
He  also  said  on  the  same  occasion  that  the  plan  I  laid  re 
sulted  in  the  killing  of  the  Chief  Kanaskat.  He  promised 
to  use  his  influence  to  have  me  breveted,  and  he  ex 
pected  a  brevet  for  himself,  which  he  certainly  deserved. 
In  those  days,  however,  when  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis  was 


Surgeon  Sukely.  261 

Secretary  of  War,  the  exploits  of  Northern  officers  were 
not  much  regarded,  and  neither  of  us  received  the  slight 
est  notice. 

In  my  plan  to  kill  Kanaskat  I  suspended  two  regula 
tions — one  that  required  a  single  sentinel  to  walk  his 
post,  and  thus  to  enable  a  skulking  savage  to  see  and 
avoid  him,  and  another  which  prescribed  the  relief  of 
the  sentinels  at  intervals  of  one  or  two  hours  by  a  de 
tachment  of  the  guard  making  its  rounds  for  that  pur 
pose  or  to  see  if  they  are  awake.  I  posted  three  men  in 
a  single  spot  where  they  were  all  concealed  under  trees 
and  behind  logs  or  stones,  with  orders  for  one  to  stand 
still  and  watch,  and  from  time  to  time  to  awaken  the  man 
who  was  to  take  his  place. 

The  above-described  plan  originated  with  me,  so  far  as 
I  know.  Its  originality  with  me  is  conceded  by  General 
A.  V.  Kautz,  of  the  United  States  Infantry,  and  Colonel 
George  H.  Mendell,  of  the  Engineer  Corps,  both  of 
whom  were  most  efficient  actors  with  me  in  the  cam 
paign  of  1856,  and  are  men  of  unimpeachable  integrity. 
After  writing  my  account  of  our  operations,  I  received 
letters  from  those  two  officers  corroborative  of  my  de 
scriptions. 

Surgeon  George  Sukeley,  whom  I  have  already  men 
tioned,  was  with  us  on  nearly  all  our  scouting  expedi 
tions.  He  was  a  man  of  genius  and  devoted  to  science. 
His  activity  of  body  and  mind  was  extraordinary,  and  he 
was  equally  admired  by  the  army,  the  citizens,  and  the 
friendly  Indians.  He  collected  and  forwarded  to  the 
Smithsonian  Institute  a  vast  number  of  beasts,  birds, 
fishes,  reptiles,  and  insects  peculiar  to  the  country  we 
were  in ;  likewise  many  bones,  jaws,  and  skulls  of  dead 
Indians.  He  also  sent  the  head  of  an  enormous  wolf, 
which  one  of  the  sentinels  shot  while  on  post  at  Muckle- 


262  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

shoot  Prairie.  He  had  in  his  employ  an  old  squaw  who 
was  able  to  tell  him  the  Indian  names  of  every  quad 
ruped,  snake,  worm,  bug,  insect,  fish,  creeping,  swimming, 
flying,  or  burrowing  animal  that  he  found,  and  many  that 
he  did  not  find,  but  which  she  discovered  and  brought  to 
him.  If  Cuvier  or  Agassiz  had  known  of  the  existence  of 
that  squaw  they  would  have  gone  half  round  the  world 
to  consult  her,  for  she  was  an  unexampled  genius  and  a 
veritable  she  Aristotle. 

We  had  another  gentleman,  Mr.  George  Gibbs,  who 
was  in  civil  government  employ  and  who  was  a  member 
of  the  officers'  mess  at  Steilacoom,  and  who  is  worthy  of 
mention  for  the  reason  that  he  possessed  many  accom 
plishments  and  amiable  qualities.  Gibbs  devoted  much 
time  to  the  dialects  of  the  aborigines,  and  became  a  mas 
ter  of  the  Chinook  jargon.  All  unwritten  languages  are 
difficult  to  learn,  but  he  was  able  to  speak  them  so  well 
that  he  astonished  the  Indians  themselves.  The  Chinook 
dialect  is  made  up  of  the  distorted  and  truncated  words 
and  phrases  of  the  Russian,  English,  French,  and  native 
languages.  It  was  remarked  that  Gibbs  could  speak 
Chinook  better  than  any  other  man,  white  or  red.  He 
came  down  to  San  Francisco,  and  one  morning  put  on  the 
dress  and  headgear  which  he  had  worn  among  the  sav 
ages.  In  that  rig  he  entered  a  fashionable  shop  to  make 
purchases.  He  inquired  for  various  articles,  but  none  of 
the  shopmen  could  comprehend  him.  They  sent  out  for 
linguists  of  various  nations  and  tribes,  of  which  there 
were  many  in  the  city,  but  not  one  could  speak  Chinook. 
Gibbs  wore  a  long  beard  and  a  serious  countenance,  and 
appeared  anxious  to  make  himself  understood.  Finally, 
after  babbling  his  jargon  for  half  an  hour,  he  walked 
away,  leaving  the  wondering  crowd  to  conjecture  his  na- 
^ionality. 


General  Ord.  263 

The  Indian  war  in  the  Puget  Sound  district  being  at  an 
end,  I  was  ordered  by  Colonel  Casey  in  the  month  of  Oc 
tober,  1856,  to  return  to  my  post,  the  delightful  Presidio 
of  San  Francisco.  The  year  succeeding  was  too  barren 
of  incident  to  require  especial  notice. 

In  the  month  of  May,  1858,  I  was  a  member  of  a  court- 
martial  convened  at  Fort  Miller,  on  the  San  Joaquin 
River.  Captain  E.  O.  C.  Ord  was  the  commanding  offi 
cer,  and  his  family  were  with  him  at  his  post.  They  en 
tertained  the  members  of  the  court-martial  bountifully, 
and  the  loving  harmony  of  that  household  was  delightful 
to  observe.  Ord  was  cheerful  and  domestic  in  his  habits, 
and  his  accomplished  wife  told  me  that  her  life  had  been 
joyous.  Little  did  she  foresee  what  the  future  had  in 
store  for  her  gallant  husband,  or  what  sorrow  for  herself. 
General  Ord,  although  a  Virginian  by  birth,  illustrated  his 
name  in  the  Northern  armies  during  our  civil  war.  If 
we  except  General  Crook,  for  a  shorter  time  he  probably 
did  as  much  constant  hard  service  as  any  other  officer  in 
the  army.  After  forty  years  of  active  duty  he  was  re 
tired,  went  to  Mexico,  where  he  exercised  important 
civil  functions,  and  married  one  of  his  daughters  to  a  gen 
eral  of  that  country.  Being  still  in  vigorous  health  and 
prosperous,  he  left  Vera  Cruz  in  the  month  of  August, 
1883,  for  a  trip  to  Cuba,  and  while  on  board  the  ship  was 
taken  down  v/ith  yellow  fever  and  died. 

It  was  on  the  very  site  of  Fort  Miller,  in  the  same 
month  of  May  seven  years  before,  that  I  saw  assembled 
above  1, 200  aborigines,  natives  of  the  adjacent  plains  and 
mountains,  many  of  whom  had  never  seen  a  white  man 
till  they  came  to  treat  with  us.  I  was  then  impressed 
with  the  appearance  of  several  chiefs,  and  remembered  the 
general  aspect  of  all.  Especially  was  I  struck  with  the 
activity  of  the  young  Indians  of  both  sexes  while  they 


264  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

amused  themselves  with  football  and  other  rough  sports. 
As  all  those  Indians  had  been  assigned  to  a  reservation 
of  which  Fort  Miller  was  a  central  point,  I  inquired  for 
several  individuals  whom  I  remembered.  I  was  told  that 
they  were  nearly  all  dead,  victims  to  drunkenness,  and 
that  of  the  whole  number  I  then  saw  in  such  full  activity 
not  above  fifty  remained.  I  took  pains  to  see  the  wretch 
ed  survivors,  and  was  shocked  with  the  spectacle  of  deg 
radation  and  self-abandonment  they  presented. 

To  show  the  care  bestowed  upon  its  copper-colored 
wards  by  our  Government  when  it  collected  them  upon 
reservations,  I  might  relate  many  incidents  that  I  have 
learned  by  observation  and  credible  report,  but  shall 
limit  myself  to  one.  The  commissioners,  McKee,Woozen- 
croft,  and  Barbour,  made  generous  provisions  for  the 
denizens  of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley.  The  reservations 
were  extensive,  and  the  Indians  were  to  be  supplied  with 
agricultural  implements,  seeds,  work  animals,  blacksmiths, 
schools,  and  many  other  useful  things,  the  most  essential 
to  them  being  beef  cattle.  About  ten  years  subse 
quent  to  the  treaties  made  by  those  commissioners,  a 
herdsman  who  had  been  employed  by  contractors  to  fur 
nish  beeves  to  these  Indians  on  their  reservations  de 
clared  to  me,  as  a  solemn  truth,  that  he  had  delivered  and 
had  receipted  for  one  and  the  same  old  Toruno  (stag) 
twenty-seven  times.  The  weight  of  that  beast  was  en 
tered  in  the  accounts  and  paid  for  at  figures  varying  from 
1,000  to  1, 100  pounds.  That  old  stag  was  an  energetic  quad 
ruped,  and  would  break  loose  invariably  the  night  after 
he  was  receipted  for,  and  return  to  the  corral  to  which  he 
was  habituated,  and  where  he  was  always  well  cared  for. 
If  I  were  to  write  a  treatise  on  the  relations  between  theo 
retic  and  practical  benevolence,  I  should  select  for  my  sub 
ject  the  Indian  policy  of  the  United  States  Government. 


Steptoe's  Disaster.  265 

Towards  the  end  of  May,  1858,  news  was  received  in 
San  Francisco  of  Colonel  Steptoe's  disaster  at  the  north 
of  Snake  River,  Washington  Territory.  The  Colonel  had 
been  detached  from  Walla  Walla  with  1 59  men  to  capt 
ure  cattle  thieves,  and  while  on  his  march  towards  Fort 
Colville  he  was  attacked  by  a  thousand  or  more  Spokans, 
Pelouses,  Cceur  d'Alenes,  and  Yackimas,  and  obliged  to 
retreat.  His  small  band  defended  themselves  from  morn 
ing  till  night,  and  Captain  H.  P.  Taylor,  Lieutenant  Will 
iam  Gaston,  and  several  of  the  rank  and  file  were  killed. 
The  balance  had  the  good  fortune  to  get  away  in  the 
darkness,  and  at  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  i/th, 
after  a  ride  of  75  miles,  they  reached  a  place  of  safety  at 
the  south  of  the  river.  Considering  the  fatigue  of  a 
whole  day's  fighting  with  the  Indians,  the  flight  of  75 
miles  during  the  succeeding  night,  without  the  loss  of  a 
man  that  started,  was  an  evidence  of  endurance  that  has 
few  examples  in  history. 

General  N.  3.  Clark,  the  commander  of  the  Department 
of  the  Pacific,  lost  no  time  in  sending  northward  all  the 
available  troops  in  California.  I  arrived  at  the  Dalles 
with  two  companies  on  the  2 1st  of  June,  and  on  the  24 th 
was  joined  by  two  other  companies,  the  four  being  under 
my  orders  and  all  encamped  together.  From  the  25th  of 
June  till  the  7th  of  July  I  lost  no  time  in  preparing  my 
force  to  fight  the  Indians.  I  had  numerous  targets  the 
height  of  a  man  set  up  at  various  distances  on  even  and 
uneven  ground,  and  for  several  hours  every  day,  Sundays 
not  excepted,  I  caused  the  soldiers,  individually  and  col 
lectively,  to  fire  at  those  targets.  In  every  case  they 
were  required  to  estimate  the  distance,  which  was  after 
wards  told,  and  required  to  adjust  their  aim  accordingly. 
The  effect  of  that  drilling  was  wonderful,  and  I  estimated 
it  as  giving  a  quadruple  value  to  my  numbers.  I  told  the 
12 


266  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

men  that  our  operations  would  probably  be  in  an  open 
prairie  country,  and  that  their  muskets  being  of  a  longer 
range  than  those  sold  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  to 
the  enemy,  they  could  aim  at  an  Indian  as  securely  as  at 
a  plank. 

The  march  of  177  miles  from  the  Dalles  to  Walla 
Walla  was  fatiguing,  as  the  weather  was  excessively  hot, 
and  in  places  the  ground  was  so  difficult  that  it  occupied 
twelve  days.  Colonel  George  H.  Wright  of  the  Ninth  In- 
fantry  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  expedition, 
and  it  required  time  to  organize  and  send  forward  his 
little  army  to  the  point  on  the  south  side  of  the  Snake 
River  which  he  selected  to  cross  to  the  country  of  the 
hostiles.  It  was  at  the  mouth  of  a  little  stream  called  the 
Tucanon,  and  in  obedience  to  orders,  as  soon  as  I  ar 
rived  there  in  the  advance  I  caused  a  small  fort  to  be  con 
structed,  which  was  left  in  charge  of  Brevet  Major  F.  O. 
Wyse,  with  one  company  of  artillery. 

I  had  never  before  served  under  the  orders  of 
Colonel  Wright,  but  from  a  slight  personal  acquaintance 
with  him  and  many  favorable  reports  I  had  conceived 
great  respect  for  his  military  capacity.  I  was  glad,  there 
fore,  to  be  his  lieutenant,  and  to  receive  from  him  the 
command  of  a  battalion  of  six  companies  of  artillery 
serving  as  infantry.  Major  William  N.  Grier  commanded 
the  dragoons,  about  200  in  number;  Lieutenant  White, 
the  mountain  howitzer  company ;  Captain  Winder,  a 
company  of  riflemen,  and  Lieutenant  Dent,  brother-in- 
law  to  General  Grant,  a  company  of  infantry.  Lieutenant 
John  Mullan  had  under  his  orders  33  friendly  Nez  Perces 
Indians,  who  were  to  act  as  guides,  scouts,  and  inter 
preters.  Mullan  was  also  the  topographical  engineer  of 
the  expedition,  and  he  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
country  we  were  to  operate  in.  Captain  R.  W.  Kirkham 


Indian  Fighting.  267 

was  quartermaster  and  commissary.  Surgeon  J.  F.  Ham 
mond,  brother  to  Senator  Hammond  of  South  Carolina 
and  author  of  the  expression  "  mudsills,"  was  the  chief 
of  the  medical  staff,  Lieutenant  P.  A.  Owen  acting 
adjutant-general,  and  Lieutenant  L.  Kipp,  Third  Artil 
lery,  adjutant  of  my  battalion. 

All  the  detachments,  numbering  about  900  men,  having 
arrived,  we  crossed  the  river  on  the  25th  and  26th  days  of 
August— the  men,  baggage,  provisions  for  40  days,  and 
ammunition  in  boats,  of  which  there  was  a  great  scarcity, 
and  about  700  mules  and  horses  swimming  the  rapid 
stream,  with  Indians  alongside  the  leaders  to  keep  them 
headed  towards  the  opposite  shore.  That  was  a  singular 
and  amusing  sight.  It  was  a  stupendous  task  to  pack 
400  mules  the  next  morning,  but  Kirkham's  arrangements 
were  so  effective  that  it  was  accomplished  at  five  o'clock, 
at  which  hour  we  left  the  river  to  find  the  enemy. 

Numerous  reports  and  stories  had  reached  us  that  the 
Indians  were  exulting  in  their  victory  over  Steptoe,  and 
they  were  confident  that  not  a  man  of  us  who  crossed  the 
Snake  River  would  return  alive.  On  the  3<Dth  of  August 
they  first  showed  themselves  in  small  scouting  parties, 
and  the  next  day  they  appeared  in  considerable  numbers, 
skirting  our  line  of  march  for  several  hours,  but  keeping 
out  of  gunshot.  They  were  apparently  luring  us  on  to  a 
favorable  spot  they  had  previously  selected  to  attack  and 
destroy  us. 

Towards  the  end  of  our  march,  on  the  3ist  of  August, 
Colonel  Wright  and  his  escort  having  preceded  me  about 
half  a  mile  and  encamped,  the  Indians  set  fire  to  the 
grass,  and  under  cover  of  the  smoke,  approached  and 
fired  upon  the  rear  guard.  We  had  kept  the  pack  train 
well  closed,  and  upon  hearing  the  first  shots  I  ordered  the 
three  companies  of  Winder,  Ihrie,  and  Hardie  and  Dent 


268  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

to  deploy  at  double-quick  time  as  skirmishers  across  the 
rear  and  along  the  two  sides  of  the  column,  while  the 
front  was  well  protected  by  Captain  Ord.  Within  five 
minutes  from  the  first  command  the  whole  train  and  every 
thing  else  was  enclosed  in  a  rectangle  of  armed  men,  and 
the  attack  repulsed.  The  promptness  of  the  manoeuvre 
was  admirable,  and  showed  the  benefit  of  discipline  and 
previous  instruction. 

The  battle  of  the  Four  Lakes  was  fought  on  the  1st  of 
September,  1858.  It  was  not  Colonel  Wright's  intention 
to  attack  that  day,  but  to  rest  the  men  and  animals  in  the 
beautiful  camp  established  the  evening  before.  His  de 
termination  was  changed,  however,  by  the  appearance  in 
the  morning  of  a  considerable  body  of  the  enemy  on  a 
neighboring  hill,  and  the  report  of  our  Nez  Perces  scouts 
of  many  more  beyond.  The  Colonel  having  arranged  his 
plan,  the  whole  force,  with  the  exception  of  a  guard  to 
protect  the  camp  and  pack-train,  marched  about  a  mile 
to  the  foot  of  the  eminence,  from  whence  Gregg's  dra 
goons,  Ord's  company,  and  Mullan  with  his  scouts  were 
ordered  up  to  dislodge  the  hostiles,  which  was  quickly 
done.  Then  our  commander  ascended  with  his  staff,  fol 
lowed  by  me  and  my  battalion  and  the  artillery.  When 
we  reached  the  summit  we  halted  a  few  minutes  to  view 
an  animated  spectacle.  We  could  see  the  four  lakes  and 
the  gullies  and  patches  of  woods  bordering  the  water,  and 
a  vast  plain  stretching  away  to  the  front  and  left.  The 
natural  scenery  was  interesting,  but  its  effect  was  wonder 
fully  heightened  by  the  thousand  or  more  savage  warriors 
who  were  riding  furiously  hither  and  thither  over  the 
plain  or  issuing  from  the  woods  and  valleys.  The  bar 
barous  host  was  armed  with  Hudson  Bay  muskets,  spears, 
bows  and  arrows,  and  apparently  they  were  subject  to  no 
order  or  command.  The  brilliant  morning  sun,  which  il- 


Indian  Fighting.  269 

luminated  the  purest  air  of  the  continent,  enabled  me  to 
distinguish  through  my  field-glass  the  individual  savages, 
their  horses,  their  trappings,  and  equipments.  Both  men 
and  animals  were  smeared  and  striped  with  gaudy  pig 
ments  and  bedecked  with  the  feathers  and  plumes  of 
birds  of  prey.  The  skins  of  bears,  wolves,  and  the  buffalo 
served  generally  for  saddles,  and  the  whole  display  was 
enhanced  by  the  frantic  gestures  and  yells  of  the  war 
riors,  who  brandished  their  weapons  in  defiance. 

Colonel  Wright  indicated  to  me  my  point  of  attack, 
and  I  descended  to  the  plain,  where  I  ordered  several 
companies  to  deploy  as  skirmishers  and  to  advance  firing. 
Our  first  discharge  seemed  to  surprise  the  Indians,  and 
those  nearest  scampered  off,  but  some  would  turn  back 
and  fire  upon  us.  After  clearing  the  broken  ground,  we 
made  way  for  Grier  to  pass  on  the  right.  He  ordered  his 
men  to  charge,  and  they  started  off  handsomely,  but  his 
horses  had  been  marching  without  a  day's  rest  for  nearly 
a  month,  and  they  scarcely  gained  on  the  hardy  Indian 
ponies,  which  were  all  fresh.  Lieutenant  Gregg,  who  was 
a  splendid  sabreur,  overtook  one  of  the  flying  rascals,  and 
with  a  blow  of  his  blade  split  his  skull  in  two.  I  pursued 
and  fought  the  enemy  nearly  three  hours,  and  upon 
reaching  a  hill  over  which  the  savages  had  disappeared  I 
was  obliged  to  halt  the  advance  to  allow  a  considerable 
number  of  the  soldiers  who  were  fatigued  and  overheated 
to  come  up.  On  reaching  the  crest  of  the  hill  I  could  see 
not  more  than  ten  or  fifteen  Indians,  the  main  body  hav 
ing  fled  to  the  woods  beyond.  While  I  was  halted  the 
recall  was  sounded,  and  I  returned  to  camp  after  an 
absence  of  about  four  hours.  The  plain  was  scattered 
with  Indian  muskets,  bows,  arrows,  blankets,  skins  and 
trinkets  which  had  been  abandoned  by  the  warriors  in 
their  flight,  but  they  had  carried  off  their  killed  and 


270  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

wounded,  according  to  custom.  We  could  not  ascertain 
from  observation  during  the  fight  the  exact  loss  of  the 
enemy,  but  we  were  certain  that  a  considerable  number 
were  slain,  and  from  subsequent  enquiry  and  information, 
we  concluded  that  not  less  than  sixty  Indians  were  killed 
and  wounded.  Of  my  battalion  not  a  man  was  hit.  As 
I  had  anticipated,  our  long-ranged  arms,  discipline,  and 
careful  previous  instruction  secured  our  safety,  and  en 
abled  us  to  thin  the  number  of  the  savages  until  their 
panic-flight  took  them  beyond  our  reach.  The  impor 
tance  of  the  victory  of  the  Four  Lakes  was  not  the  less  for 
having  been  bloodless  for  us,  and  it  stimulated  the 
soldiers  greatly. 

The  men  and  animals  needed  rest ;  we  remained  in 
camp  at  the  Four  Lakes  until  six  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  September  5,  when  we  resumed  our  advance.  At  first 
we  saw  no  Indians,  but  at  the  end  of  an  hour  they  began 
to  show  themselves,  and  to  move  along  parallel  with  our 
line  of  march  over  the  rough  ground,  beyond  which  was 
the  great  Spokan  Plain.  We  had  advanced  far  within 
the  prairie,  when,  all  at  once,  we  saw  the  savages  setting 
fire  to  the  tall  dry  grass  with  which  the  plain  was  covered 
nearly  all  around  us.  A  strong  wind  was  blowing  in  our 
faces,  and  the  flames  were  shooting  high  and  constantly 
extending.  Our  situation  was  sufficiently  alarming  when 
we  discovered,  a  few  hundred  yards  to  the  front  and  left,  a 
patch  of  bare  rock  and  scant  herbage.  Upon  that  we 
collected  our  animals  in  haste,  and  the  drivers  put  out 
the  fire  on  the  short  stubble,  which  gave  room  and  saved 
us  from  a  stampede.  Meanwhile  the  enemy  had  opened 
fire  upon  us,  and  our  men  passed  through  where  the 
flames  were  least,  Grier  and  his  dragoons  leading,  and 
commenced  the  battle  of  Spokan  Plains.  That  battle 
ended  fourteen  miles  from  where  it  began,  and  the  field 


Battle  of  Spokan  Plains.  271 

upon  which  it  was  fought  embraced  hills  and  ravines, 
woods,  rocks,  and  bare  level  ground.  I  kept  one,  and  oc 
casionally  two,  companies  in  close  order,  and  the  others 
deployed,  so  that  my  line  of  battle  was  often  above  a 
mile  long.  The  woods  and  openings  alternated  in  long 
strips,  and  riding  at  full  speed  to  and  fro,  along  the  rear, 
enabled  me  to  see  the  Indians  when  they  passed  across 
those  openings,  as  they  did  frequently  in  both  directions. 
As  soon  as  I  saw  them  making  to  the  right  or  the  left,  I 
ordered  forward  reinforcements  to  meet  them  wherever 
they  opened  fire.  The  activity  and  spirit  displayed  by 
the  officers  of  my  battalion  left  nothing  to  be  desired. 
They  certainly  did  their  best  and  did  well.  It  is  not 
easy  to  discriminate,  and  I  name  them  as  they  occur  to  my 
memory — Captains  E.  O.  C.  Ord  and  J.  A.  Hardie, 
Lieutenants  H.  G.  Gibson,  R.  P.  Tyler,  J.  L.  White,  G.  F. 
B.  Dandy,  M.  R.  Morgan,  Ihrie,  D.  R.  Ransom,  and  my 
adjutant,  Lawrence  Kipp.  There  were  probably  1,000  In 
dian  warriors  opposed  to  us,  and  among  them  were  some  of 
the  Pend  d'Oreilles  and  the  famous  Yackima  chief,  Kam- 
miakin.  He  was  severely  wounded  by  a  splinter  torn 
from  a  tree  that  was  struck  by  one  of  White's  howitzer 
shells.  On  our  side  not  a  man  was  killed,  and  only  one 
wounded.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  was  considerable,  but 
it  could  not  be  ascertained,  on  account  of  their  invari 
able  habit  of  carrying  away  their  killed  and  wounded. 
The  country  fought  over  was  without  water,  and 
when  we  reached  the  Spokan  River,  and  pitched  our 
camp,  twenty-five  miles  distant  from  the  former,  the 
whole  command,  men  and  animals,  were  nearly  ex 
hausted.  It  was  estimated  that  I  had  ridden  eighty 
miles  on  the  same  pony  of  incredible  endurance.  I  kept 
my  saddle  till  my  tent  was  pitched  ;  then  I  dismounted, 
took  a  glass  of  wine,  gave  orders  not  to  disturb  me,  and 


272  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

lay  down  on  my  back  to  rest.  For  half  an  hour  I  did  not 
move  a  muscle,  and  felt  the  whole  time  that  if  I  did  move 
one  I  should  die.  At  the  end  of  an  hour  I  was  restored, 
and  no  one  had  noticed  my  debility.  Never  before,  or 
since,  was  I  so  nearly  finished  by  the  toil  of  war. 

September  8. — Instead  of  crossing  the  Spokan  River 
we  kept  up  along  the  south  bank  over  an  extensive 
grassy  plain.  As  we  advanced  we  saw  a  great  cloud  of 
dust  rising  up  far  ahead.  Then  we  discovered  what  we 
mistook  for  a  patch  of  brown,  bare  earth  on  the  side  of 
the  mountain,  but  by  close  watching  we  saw  it  move.  It 
was  a  band  of  cattle.  After  marching  eight  miles  fur 
ther,  the  train  was  halted  and  left  in  charge  of  Ord's  and 
Gibson's  companies  of  artillery  and  a  company  of  dra 
goons.  Gregg's,  with  the  balance  of  my  command,  I 
pushed  forward,  following  Colonel  Wright  and  staff, 
Grier's  three  companies  of  dragoons,  and  the  Nez  Perces 
guides.  I  marched  my  foot-soldiers  eighteen  miles  at 
quick  time,  without  a  halt,  to  the  top  of  a  range  of  hills. 
From  their  summit  we  discovered,  far  across  a  beautiful 
lake  and  plain,  many  moving  specks,  which  were  horses. 
Grier  had  overtaken  and  captured  them  without  opposi 
tion.  The  band  consisted  of  about  1,000  horses,  mares, 
and  colts,  which  were  the  property  of  a  Tyee  whose  name 
was  Tilcohitz  ;  and  he  was  a  great  thief  and  rascal. 

At  first  Colonel  Wright  and  others  were  not  disposed  to 
kill  the  horses,  thinking  them  too  valuable.  I  told  him  I 
should  not  sleep  so  long  as  they  remained  alive,  as  I  re 
garded  them  the  main  dependence  and  most  prized  of  all 
the  possessions  of  the  Indians,  who  would  find  a  way  to 
stampede  them.  Finally  the  Colonel  organized  a  board 
of  officers,  of  which  I  was  president,  to  determine  what 
should  be  done  with  the  horses.  The  board  decided  to 
allow  the  officers  and  the  quartermaster  to  select  a  cer- 


Proposals  for  Peace.  273 

tain  number,  and  the  friendly  Indians  were  to  choose  one 
or  two  each,  and  in  this  way  about  200  were  disposed  of 
for  the  present.  For  the  others  a  high  enclosure  was 
constructed,  the  poor  animals  driven  in,  and  the  work  of 
shooting  commenced.  The  soldiers  soon  learned  that  by 
planting  a  bullet  just  behind  the  ears  the  animal  would 
drop  dead  at  once.  In  two  days  the  number  shot  by 
actual  tally  was  690,  and  the  expenditure  of  cartridges 
about  twice  as  many.  It  was  a  cruel  sight  to  see  so  many 
noble  beasts  shot  down.  They  were  all  sleek,  glossy,  and 
fat,  and  as  I  love  a  horse,  I  fancied  I  saw  in  their  beauti 
ful  faces  an  appeal  for  mercy.  Towards  the  last  the 
soldiers  appeared  to  exult  in  their  bloody  task  ;  and  such 
is  the  ferocious  character  of  men. 

While  the  work  of  destruction  was  going  on  I  saw  an 
Indian  approaching  our  camp,  carrying  in  his  hand  a  long 
pole  from  which  a  strip  of  white  cloth  was  flying,  and  in 
the  cleft  end  of  the  pole  was  a  letter.  The  letter  was 
from  Father  Joset,  S.  J.,  of  the  Cceur  d'Alene  mission, 
written  to  inform  Colonel  Wright  that  in  consequence  of 
our  victories  the  hostiles  were  completely  cast  down,  and 
that  they  wished  him  to  be  their  intercessor  for  peace. 
The  father  added  in  his  communication  that  the  friend- 
lies  were  delighted  at  our  victories,  as  they  had  been 
threatened  with  punishment  by  the  hostiles  for  not  fight 
ing. 

On  the  nth  of  September  we  crossed  the  Spokan,  and 
ours  was  the  first  civilized  army  that  ever  passed  that 
stream.  Our  first  march  beyond  was  through  a  rich  agri 
cultural  country,  where  we  found  many  rude  huts  and 
numerous  stacks  of  wheat.  The  dragoons  all  fed  their 
horses  with  wheat,  and  each  carried  away  one  or  two 
sheaves.  The  large  balance  we  burned,  so  that  desola 
tion  marked  our  tracks.  We  encamped  on  the  edge  of 


274  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

the  beautiful  Cceur  d'Alene  Lake,  and  after  a  tedious 
march  over  a  narrow  trail  through  the  mountain  forest 
we  arrived,  on  the  I3th,  at  the  mission  of  the  same 
name. 

The  next  day  I  visited  the  mission,  which  was  estab 
lished  in  1846.  The  church  was  built  of  logs,  spacious, 
but  unfinished.  Everything  within  and  around  had  a  rustic 
appearance.  Father  Joset,  Father  Minitree,  and  two  lay 
brothers  were  there.  In  this  savage,  out-of-the-way  place 
they  were  obliged  to  live  and  labor  with  the  aborigines. 
In  the  evening  I  supped  with  the  fathers.  They  had 
plenty  of  excellent  beef,  vegetables,  and  milk,  but  the 
table  and  its  service  were  as  plain  as  possible. 

In  Father  Joset  I  found  a  cultivated  gentleman  in  the 
prime  of  life,  fit  to  adorn  the  most  polished  society  in 
the  world.  I  was  unable  to  restrain  my  expressions  of 
astonishment  when  he  informed  me  that  he  had  passed 
the  last  fourteen  years  in  the  wilderness  with  the  savages. 
I  asked  him  if  he  had  no  longings  for  a  better  life  and 
society.  "  No,"  said  he,  "  I  am  content  and  happy  where 
I  am.  In  your  profession  an  outward  obedience  to  orders 
is  all  that  is  required  of  you,  but  in  the  society  to  which 
I  belong  obedience  must  be  internal,  and  cheerful,  and 
ready.  I  am  happy,  and  have  no  desire  to  exchange 
situations  with  any  person." 

Twice  every  day  while  I  remained  at  the  mission  I  had 
conversations  with  Father  Joset,  which  increased  my 
admiration  for  his  character  and  my  estimation  of  his 
self-denial.  He  instructed  me  how  his  Church  had  pre 
served  the  traditions  and  dogmas  of  Christianity,  and 
sustained  the  purity  of  the  faith,  and  it  was  primarily 
due  to  his  influence  that  I  enrolled  myself,  at  a  subse 
quent  date,  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  By  his 
explanations  and  revelations  Father  Joset  revealed  to 


The  Treaty.  275 

my  mind  vistas  through  which  the  light  from  Calvary 
shone  more  pure  and  brilliant  than  ever  before. 

The  hostiles,  who,  in  the  beginning  were  so  confident 
and  audacious,  finding  themselves  absolutely  powerless 
to  resist  us  in  the  field,  changed  their  policy  and  became 
the  most  humble  supplicants  for  peace.  Large  numbers 
came  to  the  mission  every  day,  and  on  the  i/th  of  Sep 
tember  a  council  was  held  at  which  ninety-five  chiefs  and 
head  men  were  present,  besides  numerous  squaws  and 
pappooses.  The  terms  of  the  treaty  were  not  harsh,  and 
old  chief  Polotkin  was  so  much  pleased  that  he  assured 
Colonel  Wright  that  all  his  people  would  cheerfully  sub 
mit,  which  they  subsequently  did. 

Vincent,  the  principal  chief  of  the  Cceur  d'Alenes, 
and  Polotkin,  the  head  of  the  Pelouses,  both  signed  the 
treaty  and  kept  their  promises. 

While  at  the  mission  Colonel  Wright  invited  me  to 
read  all  his  letters,  orders  and  reports.  His  orders  I 
knew,  as  they  had  all  been  published  to  the  command.  I 
made  a  careful  examination  of  every  document  written 
by  the  colonel  during  the  campaign,  and  found  in  them 
continual  proofs  of  justice,  impartiality,  and  the  absence 
of  prejudice.  It  seemed  to  afford  him  especial  satisfac 
tion  to  set  forth  the  merits  of  his  subordinates,  and  he 
omitted  no  subject  worthy  of  praise,  saving  his  own 
activity  and  fitness  for  command. 

All  fears  of  further  collisions  being  at  an  end,  we  left 
the  Cceur  d'Alene  Mission  September  18,  on  our  return 
march.  To  avoid  the  narrow  trail  through  the  forest, 
we  crossed  the  Cceur  d'Alene  River  below  the  lake  and 
also  the  St.  Joseph's.  In  crossing  those  deep,  clear 
streams  we  had  the  assistance  of  many  Indians  with 
their  birch-bark  canoes.  The  white  birch  grows  to  an 
immense  size  in  that  northern  country — sometimes  four 


276  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

feet  in  diameter  and  a  hundred  feet  high.  The  bark  is 
tough,  and  peels  off  without  breaking,  so  that  a  canoe 
can  be  made  of  a  single  strip.  An  angular  piece  is  cut 
out  of  each  end  of  the  sheet  of  bark,  which  is  brought  up, 
sewed  together  at  the  extremes,  and  the  seams  smeared 
with  pitch.  In  that  way  a  boat  is  made  in  a  short  time, 
but  as  they  are  round  on  the  bottom,  and  without  a  keel, 
they  are  easily  capsized. 

On  the  22d  of  September  we  arrived  and  pitched  our 
camp  on  the  banks  of  the  Nedwall,  a  small  stream, 
tributary  to  the  Spokan  River.  Here  a  treaty  was  made 
and  signed  by  chiefs  of  the  Spokans,  Calespools  and 
Pelouses.  The  treaties,  among  other  things,  required 
the  surrender  of  Indian  murderers  and  thieves,  and 
several,  eight  I  think,  were  surrendered  and  hanged  in 
this  camp.  One  day  six  were  hanged  in  two  batches. 
The  following  is  a  copy  of  one  of  Colonel  Wright's 
laconic  orders : 

"  The  three  Indians  confined  last  will  be  executed  within  an  hour. 
"  Signed,  G.  WRIGHT, 

"  Colonel  gth  Infantry  Com'ing." 

It  was  my  habit  during  the  campaign  to  record  the 
dates  of  all  important  movements  and  transactions,  and 
occasionally  I  wrote  descriptions  of  events  and  men  in 
my  journal.  What  follows  herein  was  written  in  great 
part  directly  after  the  facts  occurred : 

"In  the  afternoon  of  September  22,  near  night,  I 
observed  an  old  man  of  medium  stature  and  robust 
frame,  dressed  like  an  American,  approaching  our  camp 
on  horseback.  The  old  man's  name  was  Owhi,  brother- 
in-law  to  the  famous  Yackima  chief  Kammiakin,  and 
father  of  a  young  brave  named  Qualchein,  and  he  came 
in  to  make  peace,  as  he  said.  Old  Owhi  has  a  mild 


Owhi  and  his  Son.  277 

expression  of  countenance,  which  is  assumed,  since  he 
has  proved  himself  a  double-faced  man.  He  deceived 
Colonel  Wright  in  his  Yackima  campaign  of  1856,  by 
promising  to  bring  in  all  his  people,  and  by  failing  to  do 
so,  or  to  try  to  do  so.  After  telling  Owhi  to  send  for  his 
son  Qualchein,  he  directed  the  guard  to  confine  the  aged 
chief  in  irons.  At  this  order  the  old  man's  countenance 
fell  completely.  He  wiped  the  big  drops  of  sweat  from 
his  forehead,  dropped  his  hat,  took  out  his  prayer-book, 
and  began  to  turn  the  leaves.  His  skin  assumed  an  ashy 
pallor,  he  trembled,  and  altogether  his  appearance  indi 
cated  the  profoundest  grief  and  despair. 

"September  24.— At  about  12  o'clock  to-day,  as  I 
was  standing  in  front  of  Colonel  Wright's  tent,  I  saw 
issuing  out  of  a  canon  about  two  hundred  yards  from  me 
two  Indian  braves  and  a  handsome  squaw.  The  three 
rode  abreast,  and  following  close  behind  rode  a  little 
hunchback  whom  I  had  before  seen  in  our  camps.  The 
three  principal  personages  were  all  gayly  dressed,  and 
presented  a  most  dashing  air.  They  all  had  on  a  great 
deal  of  scarlet,  and  the  squaw  sported  two  ornamental 
scarfs,  passing  from  the  right  shoulder  under  the  left 
arm.  She  also  carried,  resting  across,  in  front  of  her 
saddle,  a  long  spear,  the  staff  of  which  was  completely 
wound  with  various  colored  beads,  and  from  the  ends  of 
which  hung  two  long  round  pendants  of  beaver  skins. 
The  two  braves  carried  rifles,  and  one  of  them  had  an 
ornamented  tomahawk.  I  pulled  aside  the  flap  of  the 
tent,  remarking,  as  I  did  so :  '  Colonel,  we  have  distin 
guished  strangers  here.' "  The  colonel  came  out,  and 
after  a  few  minutes'  conversation  recognized  Qualchein, 
who  is  the  son  of  Owhi,  and  one  of  the  most  desperate 
murderers  and  villains  on  this  coast.  He  had  not  met 
the  messenger  sent  out  for  him,  but  came  in  of  his  own 


278  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

accord,  or  perhaps  he  had  been  induced  to  come  by  the 
reports  of  the  imp  of  a  hunchback,  who  looked  happy 
when  his  party  entered  our  camp. 

Having  dismounted,  Qualchein  stood  leaning  on  his 
rifle  talking  with  Colonel  Wright,  who  stood  in  front  of 
him,  while  I  was  on  the  right  and  a  few  paces  in  the  rear. 
His  bold  appearance  induced  me  to  watch  him  closely. 
The  colonel  mentioned  Owhi's  name,  at  which  Qualchein 
started  suddenly  and  exclaimed,  "  Car  ? "  (where). 
Colonel  Wright  answered  calmly,  "  Owhi  mittite  yawa  " 
(Owhi  is  over  there).  A  section  of  the  guard  came  up, 
and  Qualchein,  seeing  the  hopelessness  of  his  situation, 
drooped  instantly.  His  eyes  watered,  and  he  appeared 
stupefied,  while  he  repeated  several  times  the  words, 
"  Owhi  mittite  yawa"  He  was  ordered  to  go  with  the 
guard,  but  he  stood  still,  apparently  lost  in  revery.  The 
soldiers  pushed  him  along  to  the  guard  tent  and  ironed 
him  heavily.  Within  one  hour  from  his  entry  into  our 
camp  he  was  hanged  by  order  of  Colonel  Wright. 

Qualchein  was  a  scion  of  a  line  of  chieftains  ;  his  com 
plexion  was  not  so  dark  as  that  of  the  vulgar  Indian,  and 
he  was  a  perfect  mould  of  form.  His  chest  was  broad 
and  deep,  and  his  extremities  small  and  well  shaped.  He 
had  the  strength  of  a  Hercules,  and  it  required  six  men 
to  tie  his  hands  and  feet,  so  violent  were  his  strug 
gles,  notwithstanding  he  had  an  unhealed  wound  in  his 
side. 

In  all  the  battles  and  forays  in  Washington  Territory, 
Qualchein  was  one  of  the  leading  spirits,  and  owing  to  his 
youth  and  hatred  of  the  whites,  and  his  bloody  deeds,  his 
influence  was  probably  greater  than  that  of  his  father, 
and  equal  to  that  of  his  uncle,  the  famous  Kammiakin. 
In  the  action  of  March  I,  1856,  in  which  I  commanded, 
on  White  River,  Puget  Sound  district,  Qualchein  was 


The  Return.  279 

present  with  fifty  Yackima  warriors,  of  whom  he  lost 
seven.  He  went  over  the  mountains,  as  he  said,  "  to  learn 
to  fight  at  night."  During  his  life  he  enjoyed  the  repu 
tation  of  bravery  and  enterprise,  but  at  last,  when  the 
rope  was  around  his  neck,  he  begged  for  mercy  in  tones 
that  were  abject.  He  promised  Captain  Dent,  who  was 
charged  with  his  execution,  horses  and  icters  (things)  of 
all  kinds,  if  he  would  spare  his  life.  Many  persons  who 
witnessed  his  conduct  charged  him  with  cowardice  and 
poltroonery,  but  for  myself  I  took  a  different  view  of  it. 
As  soon  as  his  hands  and  feet  were  bound  and  the  prepa 
rations  for  his  death  concluded,  resistance  was  out  of  the 
question,  and  love  of  life  was  the  sole  motive  of  his  con 
duct.  He  was  still  young,  not  over  twenty-five  years  of 
age,  and  his  physical  constitution  was  apparently  perfect 
— that,  and  his  renown  as  a  prince  and  warrior,  gave*  to 
his  life  a  charm  and  value  which  he  was  unwilling  to  sur 
render. 

On  the  26th  of  September  we  left  the  spot,  which  I 
called  the  Camp  of  Death,  on  the  Nedwall  or  Lato,  and 
on  the  1st  day  of  October  we  crossed  the  Snake  River  on 
our  return.  The  weather  had  been,  during  the  last  few 
days  of  September,  cold,  rainy,  and  excessively  trying  to 
us  all,  with  our  scant  supply  of  clothing.  Forewarned  of 
our  approach,  Major  Wyse  had  ready  for  all  the  officers  a 
supper,  which  we  devoured  with  ravenous  appetites.  The 
improvised  table  groaned  under  the  weight  of  bunch-grass 
fed  beef  (the  best  in  the  world),  prairie  chickens  and 
vegetables.  The  men  were  also  well  supplied  with  the 
same  good  cheer.  For  us,  the  major  had  the  foresight 
to  have  on  hand  a  basket  of  champagne,  which  dis 
appeared  down  our  thirsty  throats  like  water  in  the 
sand. 

I  am  now  going  to  transcribe  a  leaf  from  my  journal 


280  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

which  relates  to  the  aged  Yackima  chief,  Owhi,  his  power 
of  dissimulation,  and  his  death. 

At  the  advent  in  Eden  of  our  first  parents,  Satan  in  the 
guise  of  an  angelic  page  having  deceived  Uriel,  the  regent 
of  the  sun,  and  learned  from  him  the  way  to  earth,  flew 
thither,  and  alighted  without  the  garden.  Then  at  one 
immense  leap,  overleaping  all  bounds,  he  dropped 
sheer  within,  and,  like  a  cormorant,  perched  upon  a  tree — 
thence  he  proceeded  to  corrupt  our  mother  Eve.  Ever 
since,  and  from  that  time,  hypocrites  have  been  numerous 
among  all  nations,  clans  and  tribes  of  men. 

"  False  face  must  hide  what  the  false  heart  doth  know." 

Before  setting  out  on  the  march  of  October  3,  I  com 
mitted  Owhi,  the  Indian  prisoner,  to  the  charge  of  |Lieu- 
tenant  M.  R.  Morgan  and  his  guard  of  foot-soldiers.  The 
old  man  appeared  reconciled  to  his  fate,  and  on  several 
occasions  he  expressed  satisfaction  at  being  secure  in  our 
protection.  We  kept  him  under  strict  watch,  otherwise 
we  treated  him  with  kindness.  I  often  visited  him,  and 
it  interested  me  to  mark  the  effects  of  time  (he  was 
seventy  years  old),  bereavement  and  captivity  upon  a 
savage  prince,  who,  in  his  prime,  must  have  possessed 
extraordinary  physical  and  mental  vigor.  I  never  saw 
him  smile,  and  frequently  deep  sadness  would  mantle  his 
countenance  and  impart  to  it  an  air  of  dignity.  Without 
doubt  he  felt  sharp  pangs,  for  he  had  lost  all  his  power, 
had  witnessed  the  ignominious  death  of  his  son,  who  ex 
celled  all  his  tribe  in  strength  and  savage  prowess,  and 
now,  bereft  of  hope,  he  seemed  resigned  to  whatever 
might  be  in  store  for  him. 

He  was  mounted  upon  his  own  horse,  and  we  had 
taken  the  precaution  to  secure  him  by  a  chain  and  strap 
attached  to  his  ankles  and  passing  under  the  saddle-girth. 


Death  of  Owhi.  281 

In  this  way  he  rode  in  silence  at  the  side  of  Lieutenant 
Morgan  till  they  came  to  a  rivulet  that  is  a  branch  of  the 
Tucanon.  At  the  crossing,  the  stream  spread  out  to 
the  width  of  seventy-five  yards,  and  about  an  equal 
distance  above  a  log  spanned  it  to  serve  as  bridge  for 
footmen.  While  the  soldiers  proceeded  to  pass  on  the 
log,  Morgan  led  the  Indian's  horse  across  the  ford,  and 
dropped  the  reins  when  he  reached  the  opposite  bank.  At 
the  same  instant  Owhi  struck  his  own  horse  with  violence 
and  made  off.  Morgan  drew  his  pistol  and  pursued,  firing 
as  he  rode.  One  ball  took  effect  upon  the  fugitive's  horse, 
which  slackened  his  pace,  and  enabled  the  lieutenant  to 
come  up  abreast.  Then,  quick  as  thought,  the  old  man 
struck  Morgan's  horse  on  the  head  with  his  whip  handle, 
the  size  of  a  wagon  spoke,  and  gave  a  rough  blow  with  the 
lash  upon  the  rider's  face.  At  this  moment  several 
dragoons  approached,  and  commenced  to  fire  upon 
Owhi,  who  was  quickly  riddled  with  balls  and  brought  to 
earth. 

When  the  firing  commenced  I  was  a  third  of  a  mile 
away,  and  suspecting  the  cause,  I  rode  rapidly  in  its  di 
rection,  and  met  the  cavalrymen  bringing  the  dying  chief 
on  his  own  horse,  lying  across  like  the  carcass  of  a  dead 
wolf,  while  his  brains  were  oozing  from  the  bullet-holes 
in  his  head. 

Surgeon  Hammond  ordered  the  old  man  to  be  stripped. 
Two  shots  had  passed  through  his  leg,  one  into  his  breast, 
and  one  had  penetrated  under  his  right  cheek-bone,  and 
diagonally  up  and  out  near  the  top  of  his  head,  and  had 
destroyed  consciousness.  The  dying  chief  looked  like  a 
gasping  bull-dog,  and  I  stood  by  to  see  his  broad  chest 
heave.  He  lingered  two  hours  and  then  expired. 

The  death  scene  of  this  aged  Yackima  chief  present 
ed  a  strange  contrast  to  that  of  the  Clicitat  Tyee,  Kanas- 


282  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

kat,  whose  last  moments  I  have  already  described.  The 
countenance  of  old  Owhi  in  his  last  hours  was  gloomy, 
not  terrible  ;  but  when  I  recall  to  mind  the  dying  strug 
gle  of  Kanaskat  I  still  recoil  with  horror,  after  the  lapse 
of  seven  and  twenty  years,  for  I  fancied  that  devils  were 
glaring  at  me  through  his  eyes,  and  that  his  voice  was  a 
blast  from  hell. 

On  the  5th  of  October,  1858,  we  arrived  at  Walla  Walla, 
and  our  campaign  was  at  an  end.  Inspector-General 
Mansfield  being  there,  after  a  searching  examination, 
found  occasion  to  compliment  us  generally.  Notwith 
standing  our  long  march,  the  men  presented  a  healthy 
appearance,  which  was  due  in  a  great  measure  to  the  fact 
that  they  had  lived  without  whiskey  during  the  last  two 
months  or  more. 

While  at  Walla  Walla  we  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  the 
officers  stationed  there,  Steptoe,  Dent,  and  others,  and 
one  day  there  was  a  feast  spread  in  a  large  hospital  tent, 
to  which  several  of  the  Nez  Perces  chiefs,  our  allies,  were 
invited.  Chief  Moses  appeared  with  a  sword  and  scarlet 
sash  and  an  artillery  colonel's  dress-coat  with  large  gold 
epaulettes.  Whiskey  having  been  plentifully  served,  he 
became  brave  and  loquacious  fora  time,  and  then  he  re 
lapsed,  and  finally  became  stupefied,  and  sank  in  silence 
upon  his  bench,  half  lying  on  the  table.  The  feast  being 
over  I  went  away,  but  an  hour  later  I  returned  by  the 
tent,  and  saw  old  Moses  stretched  flat  on  the  floor,  his 
feet  in  the  shade,  his  face  in  the  sun,  dead  drunk,  and 
asleep. 

I  doubt  if  in  the  history  of  our  country  there  has  ever 
been  an  Indian  campaign  in  which  so  much  was  accom 
plished  at  an  equal  cost.  The  good  result  was  due  to 
three  causes :  The  proper  instruction  of  the  soldiers  at 
the  commencement,  the  excellence  of  the  quartermaster's 


Surgeon  Hammond.  283 

department,  and  the  admirable  fitness  of  our  commander, 
Colonel  George  Wright. 

Our  quartermaster  was  Captain  (now  General)  Ralph 
W.  Kirkham,  and  he  fully  satisfied  all  the  requirements 
of  his  office.  Never  did  a  man  more  completely  escape 
notice  by  the  perfection  of  his  work  than  did  General 
Kirkham  in  the  campaign  of  1858. 

The  medical  department  was  presided  over  by  Surgeon 
J.  F.  Hammond,  who  stood  high  in  his  profession,  but  his 
temperament  was  impressionable  to  an  uncommon  de 
gree.  As  a  surgeon  he  had  little  to  do — no  bones  to  set 
nor  wounds  to  dress.  To  show  what  false  reports  a  man's 
senses  may  often  make,  I  will  relate  in  this  connection  an 
anecdote.  One  morning,  towards  the  end  of  September, 
when  I  turned  out  there  was  a  thick  fog,  and  I  was 
chilled  and  uncomfortable,  and  the  air  seemed  to  pene 
trate  to  the  marrow  of  my  bones.  While  I  was  feeling 
the  worst,  after  starting,  Surgeon  Hammond  joined  me, 
his  face  radiant  with  unusual  smiles,  and  he  cried  out : 
"  Keyes,  did  you  ever  know  such  a  glorious  climate  as 
this  ?  It's  perfect  joy  to  live.  I  never  felt  so  well  in  all 
my  life."  Then  without  waiting  for  a  reply  he  galloped 
away  out  of  my  sight.  I  did  not  observe  him  again  till 
near  sunset,  when  we  were  in  camp.  In  the  meantime 
the.  atmosphere  had  undergone  a  complete  change.  The 
air  was  mild  and  smoky.  I  felt  perfectly  happy,  and  was 
forecasting  the  pleasures  of  San  Francisco,  when  Ham 
mond  approached  me  again,  beating  his  sides,  his  visage 
as  gloomy  as  night.  Coming  near,  he  exclaimed : 
"  Keyes,  who  ever  knew  such  an  accursed  climate  as  this? 
Fire  and  thumping  won't  keep  me  warm.  I've  a  mind  to 
commit  suicide."  He  did  not  wait  to  be  consoled,  but 
walked  away,  uttering  maledictions  against  the  weather. 

Lieutenant  John  Mullan,  of  the  Ninth   Infantry,  the 


284  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

topographical  engineer  of  the  expedition,  had  in  his  for- 
mer  surveys  made  himself  familiar  with  the  country.  In 
addition  to  his  experience,  he  possessed  uncommon  mental 
and  physical  activity ;  he  knew  all  the  trails  and  fords, 
and  in  the  crossing  of  streams  which  were  not  fordable 
his  ingenuity  was  so  remarkable  that  I  dubbed  him 
"  Duke  of  Bridgewater." 

It  would  be  ungrateful  in  me  to  omit  special  notice  of 
the  company  officers  of  my  battalion.  Ord,  H.  G.  Gib 
son,  Dandy,  Flemming,  Ransome,  Morgan,  and  R.  O.  Ty 
ler  were  conspicuous  for  their  activity.  Gibson  (now 
General)  was  my  subaltern  lieutenant  about  eight  years, 
and  was  always  conscientious  in  the  discharge  of  his 
duties.  He  was  better  posted  in  the  laws  and  regula 
tions  of  the  army,  and  in  the  history  of  individual  offi 
cers,  than  any  man  I  have  known.  The  readiness  with 
which  he  could  answer  questions  and  cite  authority 
saved  me  much  labor,  but  tended  to  make  me  sluggish. 

Lieutenant  Lawrence  Kip,  Third  Artillery,  son  of  the 
Episcopal  Bishop  of  California,  performed  his  duty  as  my 
adjutant  efficiently,  and  at  the  close  of  the  campaign  he 
wrote  and  published  its  history  in  a  small  book,  which 
was  reviewed  in  one  of  the  English  periodicals.  On  a  re- 
perusal  of  Kip's  work  after  finishing  my  own  account,  I 
find  an  exact  correspondence  of  dates  and  few  inaccura 
cies.  The  most  that  he  said  of  Qualchein  he  borrowed 
from  and  credited  to  me. 

The  commander  of  our  expedition,  Colonel  George 
Wright,  a  native  of  Vermont  and  a  graduate  of  the  Mili 
tary  Academy  of  the  class  of  1822,  was  every  inch  a 
soldier  and  a  gentleman.  In  the  year  1838  I  heard 
Colonel  Worth  say  of  Wright,  who  was  then  a  major, 
that  he  was  entitled  by  his  soldierly  qualities  to  be  ad 
vanced  two  grades.  General  Dandy,  who  was  four  times 


Wright's  Discipline.  285 

breveted  for  gallant  conduct  during  the  Rebellion,  and 
who  was  my  subaltern  in  1858,  considered  Wright  the 
best  commanding  officer  he  had  served  under.  My  posi 
tion  of  second  in  command  was  one  the  difficulties  of 
which  have  always  been  recognized  by  military  men. 
The  chief  sometimes  dislikes  or  envies  his  junior,  and  the 
latter  fancies  or  discovers  faults  that  he,  if  in  command, 
would  have  avoided.  From  the  commencement  to  the 
end  of  the  campaign  my  relations  with  Colonel  Wright 
were  confidential  and  cordial,  and  if  I  were  to  give  ex 
pression  to  my  admiration  and  respect  for  that  gallant 
soldier  and  gentleman,  I  fear  my  style  would  appear  more 
flowery  than  the  rules  of  rhetoric  prescribe  for  a  narrative 
of  facts.  The  discipline  he  enforced  was  extremely  rigid 
and  severe.  After  crossing  into  the  hostile  country,  re 
veille  was  at  three  o'clock  A.  M.,  and  the  hour  of  march 
generally  five  o'clock.  One  morning  something  delayed 
me,  not  above  three  minutes,  but  that  was  long  enough 
to  make  it  necessary  for  me  to  answer  a  brisk  demand, 
through  a  staff  officer,  to  explain  why  my  column  did  not 
move  at  the  time  appointed.  The  rebuke  was  proper,  al 
though  my  delay  was  caused  by  no  fault  of  my  own,  and 
at  no  time  did  I  suspect  for  a  moment  that  Colonel 
Wright  would  censure  me  unjustly  or  withhold  praise 
that  I  deserved.  Nothing  in  his  conduct  indicated  that 
an  acknowledgment  of  my  deserts  would  dwarf  his  fame, 
and  his  order  after  the  battle  of  the  Spokan  plains  was 
profuse  in  the  praise  of  the  conduct  of  others,  while  it  was 
silent  in  regard  to  his  own.  The  passage  in  that  order 
which  related  to  me  was  in  the  following  words : 

"  Captain  E.  D.  Keyes,  Third  Artillery,  commanding 
battalion,  was  energetic  and  gallant  throughout.  Al 
though  the  troops  extended  over  a  mile,  yet  the  captain 
was  always  in  the  right  place  in  the  right  time." 


286  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

I  will  relate  a  circumstance  to  show  the  estimate  placed 
by  the  War  Department  upon  the  strength  of  the  enemy 
opposed  to  Colonel  Wright. 

While  at  the  Cceur  d'Alene  mission  we  learned  that  the 
Sixth  Regiment  of  Infantry  was  on  its  way  overland  to 
Washington  Territory.  An  order  was  addressed  to  Brig 
adier-General  Albert  Sidney  Johnson,  the  same  gentle 
man  who,  on  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war,  went  South 
and  was  in  command  of  the  Confederate  army  at  the 
battle  of  Shiloh,  where  he  was  killed.  The  following 
paragraph  appeared  in  that  order : 

"  If  the  commander  in  Utah  should  obtain  information  to  cause  him  to  be 
lieve  it  unsafe  for  the  regiment  to  direct  its  march  upon  Walla  Walla,  he  will 
order  it  by  such  other  route  as  he  may  deem  best. " 

It  appears  that  General  Johnson  did  receive  informa 
tion  that  caused  him  to  apprehend  danger  to  the  regi 
ment  in  the  direction  of  Walla  Walla,  and  he  accordingly 
instructed  its  commander  to  proceed  to  Benicia,  Cali 
fornia,  where  in  regard  to  expense  and  time  of  trans 
port  it  was  further  from  Walla  Walla  than  at  Salt  Lake. 
For  that  reason  I  feared  the  Sixth  Regiment  would  be  de 
tained  in  the  harbor  of  San  Francisco  and  I  should  be 
left  in  Oregon  or  Washington  Territory. 

In  anticipation  of  such  an  arrangement,  I  addressed  an 
application  to  General  Clark  to  order  me  back  to  my  old 
post,  the  Presidio.  Colonel  Wright  endorsed  my  applica 
tion  as  follows  : 

"  The  rank  and  long  service  of  Captain  Keyes,  and  particularly  his  zeal, 
perseverance,  and  gallantry  during  the  present  campaign,  will,  I  trust,  com 
mend  his  application  to  the  favorable  consideration  of  the  commander  of  the 
department. 

"  (Signed)        G.  WRIGHT." 

As  soon  as  the  report  of  Colonel  Wright's  operations 
and  the  result  of  the  campaign  were  received  at  the  head- 


General  Harney.  287 

quarters  of  the  army,  then  in  New  York  City,  Lieutenant- 
General  Scott  issued  an  order,  dated  November  loth, 
1858,  which  was  highly  complimentary  to  General 
Clarke,  commanding  the  Department  of  the  Pacific,  to 
Colonel  Wright,  and  a  large  number  of  his  subordinates, 
whose  names  are  given.  From  John  B.  Floyd,  who  was 
then  Secretary  of  War,  no  line  or  word  of  praise  or  satis 
faction  was  received.  Instead  of  acknowledging  the 
merits  of  Clarke  and  Wright  and  breveting  them,  as  they 
deserved,  his  treatment  of  both  those  officers  was  con 
temptuous.  He  reduced  the  command  of  the  former  by 
cutting  off  the  northern  portion,  which  embraced  Oregon 
and  Washington  Territories,  and  erecting  it  into  a  new  de 
partment,  to  the  command  of  which  he  assigned  the  cele 
brated  Brevet  Major-General  William  S.  Harney,  who  ar 
rived  at  Fort  Vancouver  on  the  24th  day  of  October,  1858. 
I  had  a  few  days  prior  to  that  date  arrived  at  the 
same  post,  with  orders  to  proceed  with  my  company  to 
San  Francisco. 

I  lost  no  time  in  paying  my  respects  to  the  new  com 
mander,  whom  I  had  not  seen  before.  He  received  me 
with  ordinary  politeness — in  other  words,  he  was  not  rude 
to  me,  though  he  was  sufficiently  taciturn.  I  had  heard  a 
great  deal  of  General  Harney,  and  of  his  extraordinary 
physical  accomplishments  and  his  prowess  as  an  Indian 
fighter.  I  saw  before  me  a  man  six  feet  two  or  three 
inches  in  height,  faultless  in  proportion,  complexion 
bordering  on  the  sandy,  head  small,  eyes  and  counte 
nance  ordinary.  I  felt  at  once  that  I  was  in  the 
presence  of  a  typical  Southerner,  and  the  coldness  of  his 
salutation  inclined  me  to  credit  the  reports  or  accusations 
I  had  heard  that  his  official  conduct  towards  Northern 
officers  was  often  harsh.  Captain  Pleasonton,  assistant 
adjutant-general,  was  present  with  his  chief,  and  I  asked 


-288  Fifty   Years    Observation. 

him  if  there  was  any  military  news.  The  general  inter 
posed  abruptly,  saying:  "  None  of  the  troops  are  to  leave 
for  San  Francisco.  I  suppose  that  is  what  you  want  to 
know  ?  "  I  answered,  "  Yes,  sir,"  without  betraying  any 
sort  of  emotion,  although  this  hasty  announcement  of  his 
decision  was  most  unwelcome  to  me.  I  had  heard  that  it 
was  Harney's  intention  to  renew  the  campaign  against  the 
Indians  that  Wright  had  so  completely  crushed,  and  the 
general  reiterated  that  intention  during  my  first  interview 
with  him.  I  considered  his  remarks  as  disparaging  to  all 
the  officers  engaged  in  the  recent  expedition,  and  espe 
cially  to  its  commander.  The  Harney  clique  spoke  inde- 
rision  of  our  battles,  in  which  not  a  man  was  hit,  and  their 
prejudices  inclined  them  to  withhold  all  credit  from 
Wright  and  his  associates,  a  great  majority  of  whom  were 
Northern  men. 

On  going  out  from  General  Harney's  office  I  met 
Surgeon  Barnes,  who  was  afterwards  surgeon-general  of 
the  army,  and  one  of  the  attending  surgeons  of  President 
Garfield.  He  invited  me  to  mess  with  him,  and  I  gladly 
accepted  his  invitation,  and  took  my  meals  with  him 
while  I  remained  at  the  post. 

At  that  period  Barnes  possessed  a  sound  body  and 
a  genial  disposition ;  at  the  same  time  he  was  quite 
studious  and  methodical  in  his  habits.  He  was  so  full  of 
anecdotes  of  distinguished  persons,  and  so  generally 
fertile  in  discourse  that  I  began  to  reconcile  myself  to 
the  discomforts  of  Fort  Vancouver,  when  on  the  morning 
of  November  24  the  steamer  Cortez  arrived  from  San 
Francisco,  bringing  news  of  the  death  of  Colonel  Frank 
Taylor  and  my  consequent  promotion  to  be  major  of  the 
First  Regiment  of  Artillery.  Being  no  longer  a  company 
officer,  General  Harney  gave  me  an  order  to  repair  to 
San  Francisco  and  there  await  the  official  announcement 


General  Harney.  289 

of  my  promotion.  The  order  was  obliging  to  me,  and  it 
greatly  modified  my  unfavorable  impression  of  General 
Harney  in  regard  to  myself,  but  considering  him  as  a 
prominent  member  of  the  sectional  party  to  which  I  was 
so  strongly  opposed,  I  would  not  relinquish  my  vicarious 
resentment,  which  I  cherished  as  a  sacred  duty. 
13 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Return  to  San  Francisco  from  the  Indian  War.  —  Description  of  society  and 
individuals.  —  Condition  of  California.  —  The  Parrotts,  McAllisters,  Thorn 
tons,  Lakes,  Donohues,  McKinstrys,  Gwins,  Bowies,  and  others.  —  The 
Bar  of  San  Francisco.  —  Leading  lawyers. 


ETURNING  to  San  Francisco  after  an  absence  of 
-TV  less  than  six  months,  the  city  appeared  to  be  in  a 
condition  of  uncertainty  and  depression.  During  the 
past  summer  the  Frazier  River  excitement  had  drawn 
away  a  vast  number  of  people,  who  had  found  the  reported 
gold  discoveries  a  myth,  and  were  returning  much  poorer 
than  they  left. 

The  future  of  California  was  then  more  discouraging 
than  at  any  time  since  1848.  The  product  from  the 
placer  mines  was  diminishing  rapidly,  while  agriculture 
and  viticulture  were  not  encouraging.  The  mineral 
wealth  of  Nevada  was  yet  undiscovered  to  any  profitable 
extent,  and  many  of  my  associates  feared  that  Califor 
nia  was  in  a  decline.  Nevertheless  my  confidence  was 
unshaken,  and  in  the  month  of  December,  1858,  I  made 
a  purchase  of  real  estate  on  Montgomery  Street,  which 
has  proved  the  most  profitable  investment  I  ever  made. 

I  maintained  extensive  social  relations  in  San  Fran 
cisco,  the  society  of  which  has  always  been  cosmopolitan 
to  an  unusual  extent,  although  it  has  been  shaped  by  the 
Southern  element.  On  the  1st  of  January,  1859,  *  made 
seventy  calls,  and  omitted  twenty-three  that  were  on  my 
list  for  want  of  time  to  pay  them. 


The  San  Francisco  Sea-wall.  291 

Extracts  from  my  journal : 

"January  11,  1859. — To-day  I  was  introduced  to  Mr. 
James,  who  was  Mr.  Anson  Burlingame's  second  in  his 
proposed  duel  with  Mr.  Brooks,  of  South  Carolina,  who 
was  the  assailant  of  Senator  Sumner.  Mr.  James  told 
me  several  circumstances  connected  with  that  affair,  of 
which  I  was  previously  ignorant.  He  informed  me  that 
Brooks  was  a  strong,  healthy  man,  six  feet  two  and  a  half 
inches  tall,  and  a  good  match  in  strength  for  Sumner. 
He  told  me  also  that  Brooks  was  not  satisfied  with  him 
self,  and  the  manner  of  getting  out  of  the  quarrel,  and 
that  during  a  slight  indisposition  he  took  a  mixture  of 
salt  and  water,  as  he  supposed,  prepared  by  himself,  and 
died  soon  after." 

"  February  8,  1859. — To-day  and  yesterday  I  have  been 
engaged  getting  up  a  bill  for  a  bulkhead,  or  sea  wall,  in 
the  harbor  of  San  Francisco,  in  opposition  to  that  pre 
sented  by  Judge  Levi  Parsons.  The  plan  arranged  by 
the  gentlemen  who  consulted  me  did  not  meet  my 
approval,  because  it  was  proposed  to  construct  it  too  far 
out  and  to  enclose  too  much  ground  to  be  gobbled  by 
speculators,  and  my  limit  was  inserted  in  the  bill."  I 
foresaw  that  a  sea  wall  was  necessary,  although  at  that 
time  the  majority  of  the  people  were  opposed  to  it. 
Both  bills  failed,  and  all  those  who  advocated  them  were 
charged  with  selfish  motives.  At  a  date  several  years 
subsequent  a  plan  was  adopted,  and  a  sea  wall  is  now  in 
process  of  construction  and  well  advanced  upon  nearly 
the  identical  line  proposed  by  me,  which  was  a  modifica 
tion  of  that  of  J.  P.  Manro.  In  the  Assembly  the 
advocates  of  the  bill  I  had  approved  ascribed  to  me 
astonishing  talents  and  services,  while  those  who  sup 
ported  the  Parsons  project  discovered  strange  deficien 
cies. 


292  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

For  Judge  Parsons  I  entertained  a  friendly  feeling,  for 
the  reason  that  he  was  a  companionable  man,  and  also  be 
cause  in  my  first  lawsuit  he  non-suited  the  plaintiff.  My 
experience  in  that  suit  is  valuable,  as  showing  how  justice 
or  injustice  is  often  meted  out  by  juries. 

Being  in  charge  of  the  Government  reserves  in  San 
Francisco,  I  was  directed  by  General  Riley,  then  Military 
Governor  of  the  Territory,  to  lease  them.  Accordingly  I 
did  lease  the  Rincon  Point  reserve  to  the  late  Theodore 
Shillaber,  with  a  promise  to  remove  the  squatters,  whose 
tents  covered  the  whole  of  it.  I  visited  the  Point  several 
times,  and  notified  the  occupants  that  they  must  leave  or 
I  should,  on  a  certain  day,  remove  them  by  force.  My 
verbal  instructions  were  unheeded,  and  on  the  morning  of 
February  ist,  1850,  I  issued  ball  cartridges  to  my  entire 
disposable  force  of  about  fifty  men  and  two  officers, 
Lieutenants  Landrum  and  Gibson,  and  took  up  my  line 
of  march  for  Rincon  Point,  four  miles  distant  from  the 
Presidio.  As  we  wound  over  the  sand-hills  it  was  ob 
served  that  the  sky  was  perfectly  clear,  and  that  the  sun 
shone  with  unusual  brightness.  It  was  one  of  those 
charming  days  which  surprise  the  stranger  who  visits  our 
shores  in  the  clear  intervals  of  the  rainy  season.  I  direct 
ed  the  soldiers  to  be  silent,  and  to  pay  no  attention  to 
anything  but  the  orders  of  their  officers.  Arrived  at  the 
border  of  the  reserve,  I  halted  my  men,  and  passing 
across  the  line  called  on  all  the  squatters  to  vacate.  They 
crowded  about  me,  and  all,  with  one  single  exception, 
submitted.  The  exception  was  a  "  Sydney  Duck,"  as  he 
was  called,  whose  name  was  White.  He  refused  to  go, 
and  dared  me  to  touch  his  property,  which  was  somewhat 
extensive,  as  he  kept  a  hardware  store  in  one  tent  and 
lived  in  irregular  combination  in  another  adjoining.  I 
wasted  no  words  upon  the  Sydney  Duck,  but  marched  my 


"  The  Sydney  Duck:'  293 

soldiers  close  to  his  premises,  ordered  six  robust  fellows 
to  stack  their  arms  and  carry  beyond  the  line  and  de 
posit  with  care  the  tents  and  all  they  contained.  It  was 
done  with  despatch,  and  saving  my  orders,  which  were 
few,  not  a  word  was  uttered  by  any  man  in  my  command. 
As  soon  as  the  ground  was  cleared,  I  directed  the 
workers  to  take  their  arms  and  resume  their  places  in  the 
ranks.  Then  I  gathered  the  full  force  of  my  lungs,  and  in 
a  voice  which  a  man  told  me  "  could  have  been  heard  two 
miles  off,"  I  shouted,  "  Shoulder  arms ! — By  the  right 
flank,  right  face  — Forward  march!"  The  ranks  were 
closed,  and  we  moved  away  in  silence  along  what  is  now 
First  Street,  leaving  a  crowd  of  not  less  than  7,000  men, 
who  had  assembled  to  witness  our  achievement.  There 
was  a  man  in  the  multitude  who  had  been  in  the  "  battle 
of  San  Pascual."  He  afterwards  said  to  me :  "  That 
battle  was  nothing  to  that  clearing  out  of  squatters." 

I  was  in  full-dress  uniform,  and  marching  in  front  of 
my  men,  when  I  arrived  at  the  junction  of  Market  and 
Montgomery  streets,  where  I  was  met  by  an  Alguazil 
(Sheriff),  who  served  on  me  a  summons  to  appear  without 
delay  before  Judge  Almon  of  the  Court  of  First  Instance. 

I  went  direct  to  that  court,  where  Mr.  Calhoun  Ben- 
ham,  on  the  part  of  the  Sydney  Duck,  opened  the  cause 
in  a  fiery  discourse  upon  my  armed  encroachment  upon 
civil  rights.  He  deprecated  the  exercise  of  military  tyran 
ny  and  usurpation  in  a  strain  of  eloquence  which  touched 
the  sublime.  Mr.  Peachy  assumed  my  defence,  and  ex 
plained  the  circumstances  and  orders  under  which  I  had 
acted,  whereupon  the  judge  released  me  and  I  returned 
to  my  post. 

As  I  had  forcibly  ejected,  or  caused  to  be  ejected, 
many  other  intruders  upon  the  public  grounds,  I  fancied 
I  should  not  be  troubled  again  by  the  Sydney  Duck ;  but  I 


294  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

was  mistaken.  He  consulted  several  lawyers,  and  found 
one  or  more  who  advised  him  to  bring  a  civil  suit  against 
me  for  $6,000  damages.  Notwithstanding  his  neighbors 
on  the  hill  were  disturbed  almost  every  night  by  the 
drunken  orgies  in  White's  tent,  and  shocked  by  the 
screams  of  his  woman,  whom  he  frequently  beat  and 
thrust  out  into  the  cold,  he  found  many  sympathizers 
among  the  squatters,  who  would  gladly  have  seen  me 
mulcted  for  the  tyrannous  proceedings  of  which  I  was 
accused. 

The  preliminaries  caused  me  great  trouble  and  ex 
pense  ;  but,  being  a  novice  in  litigation,  I  felt  no  appre 
hension  in  regard  to  the  result.  I  was  so  simple  as  to 
suppose  that  the  plaintiff  sought  compensation  only  for 
the  damages  done  him  by  my  forcible  ejectment  of  him 
self  and  his  goods.  He  complained  of  nothing  more  in 
the  several  conversations  I  subsequently  had  with  him. 
But  his  lawyer  informed  him  that  he  had  suffered  a  hor 
rible  outrage,  of  which  he  was  wholly  unconscious  at  the 
time  it  occurred.  The  outrage  arose  from  the  following 
circumstance :  As  I  before  remarked,  the  weather  was 
delightful  on  the  morning  of  February  1st,  and  it  con 
tinued  so  without  any  sign  of  atmospheric  disturbance, 
until  nearly  all  White's  effects  had  been  removed.  Then, 
with  an  astonishing  suddenness,  a  solitary  cloud  came 
driving  athwart  the  sky,  and  when  it  came  over  our  heads 
it  discharged  big  drops  of  rain  while  all  around  was  sun 
shine.  The  rain  continued  not  above  two  minutes  and 
caused  a  general  shout  of  merriment  among  the  crowd, 
and  the  effect  was  cheerfulness,  as  the  air  seemed  more 
balmy  than  before. 

At  the  trial,  which  came  on  before  Judge  Levi  Parsons, 
some  of  the  plaintiff's  willing  witnesses  described  that 
merry  dripping  from  the  fugitive  cloud  as  a  serious  storm 


Some  Legal  Eloquence.  295 

of  rain.  In  the  speech  of  his  attorney  it  was  magnified 
to  a  howling  tempest,  and  me,  the  most  placable  of  men, 
he  held  up  to  the  jury  as  a  ferocious  despot.  I  fancy  I 
see  him  yet,  his  hands  clenched,  his  lips  drawn  taut,  his 
eyes  wildly  rolling,  when  he  paused  a  full  minute,  as  if  to 
master  his  passion  and  to  choose  the  most  fitting  words 
to  impart  it.  Then  he  lifted  up  his  voice  and  entered 
upon  the  climax  of  his  declamation.  "  Gentlemen  of  the 
jury,"  said  he,  in  caressing  tones,  "  you  have  heard  the 
evidence  in  this  cause,  and  it  would  be  an  insult  to  your 
understanding  to  suppose  you  are  not  fully  impressed 
with  the  gravity  of  the  wrong  done  my  unoffending  cli 
ent  by  a  man  who  seems  insensible  to  the  rights  of  an 
innocent  citizen,  and  whose  heart  has  been  'changed  to 
stone  by  the  practice  of  tyranny.  Yet,  notwithstanding 
the  enormity  of  his  trespass,  we  might  find  some  extenu 
ating  circumstances  in  his  conduct,  had  he  not  himself 
foreclosed  every  claim  to  your  compassion  by  the  studied 
cruelty  of  his  procedure.  Instead  of  choosing  a  day  and 
hour  for  the  exercise  of  his  nefarious  authority,  when  the 
sky  was  clear  and  the  air  was  warm,  he  held  his  armed 
hirelings  in  hand  till  the  elements  were  at  war.  He 
watched  the  sky  with  malignant  scrutiny,  and  when  the 
angry  clouds  began  to  discharge  their  floods,  he  drove 
out,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  my  honest  client  and 
his  gentle,  delicate  spouse,  and  exposed  them  to  the 
drenching  rain  and  the  rude  winter  blast.  For  such  an 
act  of  causeless  vengeance,  these  modest  people  here  be 
fore  you  [the  Sydney  Duck  and  his  woman  were  both  in 
the  court]  have  only  asked  the  imposition  of  a  fine  of 
$6,000,  when  the  whole  fortune  of  the  sullen  military  ty 
rant  would  be  an  inadequate  amende." 

Alter  a  few  additional  remarks,  complimentary  to  the 
jurors   upon   their   dignified   character,   sturdy   indepen- 


2g6  Fifty  Years1  Observation. 

dence,  and  love  of  justice,  the  eloquent  pleader  sat  down 
and  mopped  the  sweat  from  his  forehead. 

Judge  Parsons  ordered  the  clerk  of  the  court  to  enter  a 
non-suit,  and  that  ended  my  first  lawsuit. 

A  few  days  after  the  trial,  I  met  one  of  the  jurors 
whom  I  knew,  and  asked  him  what  would  have  been 
the  verdict,  if  my  case  had  been  submitted.  He  re 
plied  that  he  should  have  given  the  plaintiff  the  full  sum 
demanded,  not  because  I  had  done  anything  wrong  in 
itself,  and  he  allowed  that  my  orders  fully  justified  the 
removal  of  the  squatters ;  "  but,"  said  he,  "  you  had  no 
right  to  turn  them  out  in  such  a  cold  storm  of  rain — I 
thought  that  indicated  an  oppressive  disposition  in  you, 
and  I  was  willing  to  see  you  punished  for  it ! ! ! " 

A  feeling  of  gratitude  inspires  me  to  name  the  families 
and  persons  in  California  whose  society  has  cheered  me 
most  during  my  long  sojourn  in  that  State.  The  Parrotts 
and  the  McAllisters  stand  first  in  duration  and  constancy 
of  friendship.  Mr.  John  Parrott  is  several  times  a  mill- 
ionnaire.  He  came  to  San  Francisco  from  Mexico  in  1850, 
bringing  what  was  then  considered  a  large  fortune,  which 
he  has  increased  to  its  present  magnitude  by  enterprise 
and  foresight  as  a  banker,  merchant,  and  agriculturist. 
He  was  the  first  American  to  establish  an  elegant  home 
in  California,  which,  under  the  admirable  supervision  of 
his  wife,  has  been  the  scene  of  a  luxurious  hospitality 
during  the  last  twenty-five  years.  Mrs.  Parrott's  un 
stinted  bounties  to  the  poor,  and  to  every  deserving  ob 
ject,  entitle  her  to  the  leadership  of  Christian  charity  on 
the  Pacific  Coast.  Her  husband  is  worthy  of  honor  for 
the  timely  and  efficient  services  rendered  by  him  to  se 
cure  the  Territory  of  California  to  the  United  States. 
The  two  are  alike  remarkable  for  virtues  which  are  the 
rarest  in  the  world.  They  never  turn  their  backs  upon 


Prominent  Californians.  29} 

an  old  friend  who  has  been  overtaken  by  poverty,  and 
they  never  mistake  rudeness  for  gentility.  Mr.  Parrott 
at  one  time  was  regarded  the  richest  man  in  the  State, 
but  his  deportment  underwent  no  change,  and  being  now 
advanced  in  years  and  oppressed  by  weakness,  he  is  re 
ferred  to  as  a  man  whose  head  has  not  been  turned  by 
the  possession  of  an  immense  fortune  acquired  by  him 
self.  Numerous  other  families  have  received  me  with 
uniform  cordiality ;  among  them  I  can  only  mention 
those  whose  intimacy  I  have  enjoyed  the  longest — the 
Thorntons,  Floyds,  Lakes,  Babcocks,  Lincolns,  Lows, 
Donohues,  Tevises,  Hogans,  Sillems,  McKinstrys,  Otises, 
Gwins,  Hagers,  Bowies,  Loughboroughs,  Zanes,  and  others. 

I  have  known  a  great  number  of  the  prominent  men  of 
California,  but  the  majority  of  my  intimate  associates 
have  been  of  the  legal  profession.  In  estimating  their 
merits  and  demerits  it  is  proper  that  I  should  first  define 
my  own  qualifications  to  judge  them  fairly. 

During  the  last  nine  years  my  purpose  has  been  to 
ascertain  the  distinctive  qualities  of  men  who  succeed  at 
the  bar,  with  a  view  to  instruct  one  of  my  younger  sons, 
who,  at  the  age  of  eleven  years,  elected  to  prepare  him 
self  for  the  legal  profession. 

One  of  my  older  sons,  Dr.  E.  L.  Keyes,  of  New 
York,  at  the  same  age  determined  to  be  a  physician 
and  surgeon.  With  a  view  to  bend  his  mind  in  the 
right  direction,  I  observed  the  lives  and  studied  the 
histories  of  the  great  men  whose  example  I  desired 
him  to  pattern  after.  My  own  father,  who  was  a  mem 
ber  of  the  same  profession,  possessed  a  genius  not  in 
ferior  to  that  of  my  son,  but  his  advantages  and  field 
for  practice  were  vastly  less.  I  determined,  therefore, 
that  the  best  opportunities  the  world  afforded  my  son 
should  have.  In  their  search  I  discovered,  to  my  aston- 
13* 


298  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

ishment,  that  the  surgeons  and  therapeutists,  in  spite 
of  their  bickerings  and  backbiting,  were  far  more  uniform 
in  disposition  and  genius  than  the  lawyers.  One  reason 
for  their  similarity  probably  arises  from  the  fact  that  the 
medical  body  is  almost  destitute  of  political  significance, 
while  the  legal  men  constitute  an  estate,  and  they  wield 
a  mighty  power  in  the  land. 

Considering  my  younger  son,  and  with  a  view  to  give 
clearness  to  my  descriptions  and  force  to  my  precepts,  I 
found  it  necessary  to  study  jurisprudence  under  three 
heads,  which  I  designate  the  grand,  or  heroic,  the  sedate, 
and  the  emotional.  It  was  under  the  accursed  classifica 
tion  of  emotional  jurisprudence  that  two  flippant  adepts 
once  placed  my  name  and  fortune  in  fearful  jeopardy. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  I  discovered  all  the  three  best 
exponents  of  the  designations  given  above  in  France. 
They  were,  in  order,  Berryer,  Marie"  and  Lachaud.  To 
Berryer  I  have  heard  old  Frenchmen  ascribe  the  attri 
butes  of  a  demigod.  The  grandeur  of  his  person,  the 
majesty  of  his  countenance,  and  the  indescribable  melody 
and  strength  of  his  voice  awed  alike  the  court  and  jury 
to  compliance  with  his  arguments.  Aside  from  all  mere 
tricious  advantages,  Berryer  was  one  of  the  profoundest 
jurists  of  his  time. 

Then  Marie",  whose  success  in  nearly  every  cause,  and 
his  large  fees,  inspired  my  informant  Alphonse  Karr,  the 
celebrated  writer,  to  go  many  times  to  hear  him  plead. 
Marie's  person  was  small  and  insignificant,  his  voice  pip 
ing,  and  his  general  appearance  homely.  Yet  in  spite  of  so 
many  apparent  drawbacks  he  had  the  art  of  shaping  and 
stating  with  wonderful  clearness  and  method  everything 
that  favored  his  client ;  at  the  same  time  he  could  confuse 
the  statements  and  dwarf  the  facts  of  opposing  counsel  to 
such  an  extent  that  the  verdict  was  usually  declared  for  him 


Lachaud.  299 

Lastly,  the  celebrated  Lachaud,  who  was  called  Vami 
des  ptcheurs,  the  friend  of  the  sinners.  Five  years  ago  I 
heard  him  plead,  and  last  year  he  died.  He  was  of  an 
amiable  disposition,  but  his  genius  he  must  have  derived 
from  Satan. 

In  France  there  is  a  hideous  variety  of  crime,  surpass 
ing  all  that  can  be  learned  among  native  Americans. 
The  habitual  reader  of  the  Gazette  des  Tribuneaux 
discovers  that  human  depravity  is  without  limit,  and  that 
the  vengeance  excited  by  cupidity,  jealousy,  and  malice 
displays  itself  in  horrors  which  are  inconceivable  to  the 
writers  of  fiction.  In  such  a  state  of  things  Lachaud 
found  constant  employment.  During  forty  years  the 
throwers  of  vitriol,  the  mutilators,  the  assassins,  parri 
cides,  robbers,  thieves,  and  murderers  looked  to  him  to 
confuse  the  courts  and  get  them  free,  or  to  secure  circon- 
stances  attcnuantes,  one  of  which  ends  he  seldom  failed  to 
gain.  In  a  certain  cause  I  heard  him  plead.  I  use  the 
word  plead,  because  I  am  referring  to  a  speech  in  a  law 
court  by  a  Frenchman.  Judge  Hoffman  objects  to  the 
word  plead,  and  says  I  should  say  argue.  He  ought  to 
understand  that  I  make  no  reference  to  an  argument, 
but  to  the  harangue  of  the  greatest  master  of  emotional 
jurisprudence  of  modern  times. 

A  young  man  of  good  family  was  accused  of  way 
laying  in  a  solitary  place,  murdering  and  robbing  an  old 
respectable  citizen.  The  proofs  were  conclusive  of  the 
facts,  which  were  acknowledged  by  the  accused  and  his 
family.  With  a  view  to  extenuation,  Lachaud  was  sent 
for,  and  he  came  down  to  Nice  to  conduct  the  defence. 
Through  the  kind  offices  of  my  young  friend,  D'Arson,  I 
secured  a  seat  in  the  court-room,  which  was  packed  almost 
to  suffocation.  Two  infantry  soldiers  with  muskets 
guarded  each  door,  and  others  stood  on  the  right  and  left 


3OO  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

of  the  murderer.  M.  Lachaud,  who  was  a  trifle  taller 
than  the  average  of  his  countrymen — rather  stout,  lightish 
in  complexion,  and  round-faced — had  already  commenced 
speaking  when  I  entered.  For  a  while  he  spoke  in  a 
moderately  animated  tone  of  things  of  small  importance. 
Then  his  voice  subsided  into  a  lulling  tone,  and  during 
three  full  minutes  he  detailed  the  movements  of  the  aged 
victim — how  he  got  into  his  carriage,  how  his  wife,  his  son 
and  daughter  got  in  after  him,  how  the  vehicle  moved 
over  hill  and  dale  till  it  entered  a  lonely  forest,  etc.,  etc. 
His  words  seemed  to  glide  from  his  mouth  in  a  con 
tinuous  stream,  while  he  stood  upright  and  motionless  as 
a  statue  with  his  arms  at  his  sides.  The  tones  of  his  voice 
were  clear  and  low,  and  so  monotonous  as  to  pro 
duce  a  sleepy,  listless  look  in  his  auditors,  when  all 
at  once  his  right  hand  shot  up  to  its  utmost  stretch  as  if 
moved  by  a  shock  of  electricity — at  the  same  time  in  a 
voice  sharp  enough  to  cleave  the  walls,  he  screeched, 
"  Quelle  heure  est-il  ?  "  It  appeared  to  me  that  every  per 
son  in  the  hall  jumped,  or  bounced,  a  foot  high.  Then, 
after  a  pause  of  a  half  minute,  he  answered  himself: 
"  Onze  heures  " — another  pause — "  Onze  heures  du  soir." 
After  another  pause  of  equal  duration,  he  assumed  an  air 
and  voice  of  freezing  solemnity,  and  said :  "  a  cette  meme 
heure  ce  jeune  homme  la  (pointing  at  the  prisoner)  a  donne" e 
le  coup  mortel  au  vieillard."  The  jury  and  audience  were 
with  him,  and  the  scene  before  us  was  as  terrible  as  the 
vision  of  Ezekiel.  From  that  point  he  called  up  the 
murdered  man  and  laid  bare  all  the  offences  of  his  life.  The 
youthful  felon  he  treated  with  fatherly  tenderness,  ascribed 
to  him  many  virtues,  and  magnified  the  provocations  he 
had  received  to  such  a  degree  as  to  almost  exculpate  him. 
The  effect  of  the  speech,  which  was  nothing  but  sound 
and  gesture,  resulted  in  a  short  imprisonment,  when  the 


The  San  Francisco  Bar.  301 

crime  of  the  young  villain  deserved  the  guillotine.  It  is 
to  be  hoped  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  such  buf 
foonery  in  courts  will  be  dispensed  with  in  the  determi 
nation  of  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  men  accused  of  crimes. 

In  England  and  America  I  do  not  find  in  the  profession 
of  the  law  men  who  so  distinctly  typify  the  three  classi 
fications  of  jurisprudence  as  the  Frenchmen  I  have  re 
ferred  to.  Thurlow  of  England  and  Daniel  Webster  in 
America  stand  next  to  Berryer,  with  a  wide  interval  be 
tween.  Sugden  of  England  and  Charles  O'Conor  in 
America  compare  with  Marie',  leaving  out  of  view  the  un 
approachable  hypocrisy  of  the  Gaul.  Erskine  at  the 
English  bar,  and  James  T.  Brady  of  New  York,  were  the 
champions  of  emotional  jurisprudence  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
training,  but  far  inferior  to  Lachaud  of  the  Latin  race, 
whom  I  consider  /tors  concours  beyond  comparison. 

The  bar  of  San  Francisco  is  and  has  been  well  peopled 
with  able  lawyers.  Subjects  for  litigation  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  have  always,  since  the  close  of  the  Mexican  war, 
been  abundant,  and  some  unsettled  titles  and  many  dis 
cordant  nationalities  promote  strife,  so  that  confusion 
still  thrives. 

The  law  firm  of  Halleck,  Peachy  &  Billings  was  one  of 
the  first  formed  in  San  Francisco,  and  it  held  together 
longest.  Its  members  were  as  incongruous  and  dissimilar 
in  disposition,  manners,  and  habit,  as  any  three  men  I 
have  known.  Halleck  was  thrifty  and  persevering,  but 
his  distinctive  characteristics  were  obduracy  and  laboru 
ousness.  I  was  less  intimate  with  him  than  with  the 
other  two,  for  he  was  more  inclined  to  be  my  enemy  than 
friend.  Peachy  was  a  Virginian,  aristocratic  in  deport 
ment,  magisterial  in  manners,  and  fairly  learned  in  the 
law.  He  gained  a  fortune  and  afterwards  lost  it  by  un 
fortunate  investments.  Billings,  the  business  man  of  the 


3O2  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

concern,  was  active,  ambitious,  cheerful,  and  always  lavish 
in  his  chanties.  The  permanence  of  the  association  of 
those  three  men  was  simply  a  conjunctive  disjunctive 
continuance,  and  when  the  partnership  dissolved  no 
strong  ties  were  severed. 

Among  the  lawyers  of  San  Francisco  of  an  early  date 
was  Edward  D.  Baker,  who  removed  to  Oregon  a  few 
years  before  the  civil  war,  and  was  elected  to  the  United 
States  Senate  from  that  State.  When  the  war  broke  out 
he  was  commissioned  a  brigadier-general,  and  fell  at  Ball's 
Bluff.  I  was  intimate  with  him,  and  when  we  met  in  the 
street  or  elsewhere  he  was  usually  disposed  to  discuss 
various  subjects  with  me,  or  to  talk  of  national  questions 
upon  which  we  agreed.  When  Judge  Hoffman  joined  us, 
as  he  often  did,  Baker  would  take  a  cigar  from  the  judge's 
vest-pocket,  where  several  were  always  exposed  to  the 
clutch  of  his  numerous  fuming  acquaintances,  light  it  by 
the  one  that  Hoffman  was  smoking,  and  continue  the 
discussion.  On  one  occasion  Baker  told  me  he  was  sur 
prised  that  so  many  Northern  men  expressed  regret 
that  they  were  not  Southerners.  "  For  my  part,"  said  he, 
"  if  I  had  been  born  in  New  England  I  should  have  been 
proud  of  it."  Baker's  moral  and  physical  courage  was  so 
great  as  almost  to  entitle  him  to  be  called  intrepid,  and 
yet  in  social  life  he  was  the  easiest  and  most  amiable  of 
men.  He  possessed  the  gift  of  eloquence  to  an  extra 
ordinary  degree,  and  his  perceptions  were  quick. 

The  occasional  advantages  he  gained  at  the  bar  and  in 
the  Senate  were  due,  in  a  measure,  to  the  readiness  and 
brilliancy  of  his  speech.  I  sat  next  him  at  one  of  the 
New  England  dinners  in  San  Francisco.  Knowing  that 
he  would  be  called  on  to  address  the  company,  I  asked 
him  if  he  had  prepared  a  speech.  "  No,"  said  he,  "  I 
shall  think  on  what  I  am  going  to  say  when  I  rise  from 


E.  D.  Baker.  303 

my  chair."  Then  he  told  anecdotes  of  his  ability  to  refer 
to  any  subject  suggested  to  him,  and  said  I  might  suggest 
something  if  they  should  call  him  up.  I  waited  till  he 
was  starting  to  rise,  and  whispered:  "Tell  us  how  Han 
nibal  descended  from  the  Alps  into  Italy."  His  address 
was  one  of  his  best  and  quite  long.  It  was  delivered 
without  apparent  effort,  appropriate  to  the  occasion,  and 
towards  the  end  he  described  Hannibal's  passage  of  the 
Alps  with  elegant  exactness,  and  so  artfully  was  it  inter 
woven  in  the  subject  before  the  meeting  that  it  seemed  a 
necessary  part  of  his  discourse.  This  uncommon  readi 
ness  rendered  him  remiss  in  study  and  averse  to  patient 
investigation,  without  which  no  man  can  become  great 
except  for  dash  and  earnestness,  which  were  also  charac 
teristics  of  Senator  Baker. 

He  was  a  warm  personal  friend  and  admirer  of  Brod- 
erick,  and  attended  him  till  he  died,  after  the  wound  he 
received  in  his  duel  with  Judge  Terry.  After  Broderick's 
death  the  remains  were  brought  in  a  coffin  to  the  Plaza, 
and  there,  upon  a  high  platform,  Baker  stood  to  pro 
nounce  his  funeral  oration.  His  first  words  rang  out 
over  the  vast  assemblage,  and  secured  profound  atten 
tion  :  "  Fellow-citizens  ! — A  Senator  lies  dead  before 
you  !" 

His  whole  discourse  was  fearless  and  impressive.  He 
portrayed  in  vivid  colors  the  life  and  services  of  the  de 
ceased  statesman,  described  his  ascent  from  a  youth  of 
poverty,  and  the  opposition  which  he  encountered  at 
every  step  till  he  gained  distinction  and  became  a  Sena 
tor.  He  commented  with  much  ability  and  severity  upon 
the  folly  and  futility  of  Northern  men  fighting  duels  with 
Southerners.  In  the  free  States  public  opinion  pro 
scribed  duelling,  while  it  was  encouraged  and  counte 
nanced  by  the  slaveholders,  who,  by  their  practice  with 


304  ''Fifty  Years*  Observation. 

pistols,  secured  a  great  advantage  over  their  Northern 
antagonists.  Baker,  who  was  not  a  native-born  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  was  able  to  judge  the  subject  without 
prejudice,  and  he  might  have  proved  from  the  history  of 
war  that  a  soldier  is  not  braver  or  better  for  being  a 
duellist,  nor  worse  for  refusing  a  challenge. 

Of  the  living  members  of  the  California  bench  and  bar, 
I  am  on  terms  of  social  intimacy  with  a  large  number,  but 
I  can  only  venture  to  describe  the  distinguishing  traits  of 
a  few  that  I  have  known  longest  and  best. 

The  present  Chief  Justice  of  the  State,  Morrison,  owes 
his  position,  in  addition  to  his  knowledge  of  law,  to  his 
aptness  in  classification,  and  to  his  superior  conscien 
tiousness.  Unfortunately  he  is  now  in  poor  health. 

Justice  Morrison's  immediate  predecessor,  Wallace,  is  a 
man  of  sanguine  temperament,  fairly  self-appreciative, 
commanding  in  person,  and  in  character  and  disposition  a 
fine  specimen  of  the  manly  race  among  whom  he  was 
born.  I  know  more  of  his  natural  ability  and  general  ac 
complishments  than  of  his  genius  and  acquirements  as  a 
jurist  and  advocate,  for  which  he  is  distinguished.  He 
possesses  the  rare  faculty  of  being  able  to  collect  from  all 
his  reading  and  observation  every  poetical  and  romantic 
idea,  as  well  as  those  that  are  ludicrous.  All  this  he  does 
with  as  little  apparent  effort  as  the  magnet  thrust  into  the 
sand  withdraws  all  the  ferruginous  particles,  and  thus  he 
is  enabled  to  strew  the  monotony  of  life  with  the  gems 
of  thought  and  the  illusions  of  fancy. 

The  majority  of  people,  when  they  refer  to  the  heads  of 
the  California  bar,  speak  of  Hall  McAllister,  Joseph  Hoge, 
and  Samuel  Wilson.  For  thirty  years  I  have  been  f  riend- 
ly  with  those  prominent  gentlemen,  and  cordially  intimate 
with  die  first  two,  and  I  will  give  my  impression  of  them, 
beginning  with  the  ia«d-  named. 


Hall  McAllister.  3°5 

Mr.  Wilson,  while  still  a  very  young  practitioner, 
attracted  attention  in  Illinois  in  a  cause  wherein  the 
court  designated  him  to  defend  a  criminal,  which  he  did 
in  a  masterly  manner.  He  is  a  small,  compactly  built 
man,  with  a  bright,  dark  eye,  which  indicates  the  physical 
and  mental  activity  for  which  he  is  distinguished.  His 
knowledge  of  law,  persistent  industry,  fruitfulness  in 
expedients,  have  enabled  him  to  win  as  many  important 
causes  as  any  man  hi  California,  The  qualities  named 
above,  with  which  Mr.  Wilson  is  endowed  to  an  extra 
ordinary  degree,  entitle  him  to  rank  with  men  of  the 
highest  order  of  talent,  but  being  somewhat  deficient  in 
imagination,  he  falls  a  trifle  short  of  genius,  or  my  judg 
ment  of  him  is  at  fault. 

Mr.  Joseph  Hoge  was  Wilson's  law  partner  in  Illinois, 
where  he  showed  signs  of  great  promise.  In  the  Supreme 
Court,  when  an  intricate  cause  is  to  be  argued,  Mr. 
Hoge  can  present  his  side  with  a  clearness  and  brevity 
unequalled  by  any  of  his  colleagues.  His  eye,  and  his 
power  to  use  it,  denote  genius,  and  his  voice  is  the  best 
of  all.  He  has  always  mingled  in  politics  to  an  extent 
that  has  occasionally  interrupted  his  studies ;  and  he  was 
terribly  chagrined  at  one  time  when  he  failed  to  receive 
the  nomination  for  United  States  Senator.  He  is  erect 
in  person,  hardy,  nimble  hi  motion,  tasteful  in  dress, 
wears  cravats  of  many  tints,  and  rings  and  pins  of  rare 
devices.  When  he  is  in  luck  the  presence  of  Joseph 
Hoge  makes  me  joyous. 

Of  Hall  McAllister,  I  must  speak  at  greater  length 
than  of  the  others,  I  knew  him  and  his  family  at  the 
East  before  the  Mexican  War.  His  father,  M.  H. 
McAllister,  was  prominent  in  Georgia,  and  later  was  the 
United  States  Circuit  Judge  in  California.  Hall  was 
born  in  Georgia,  but  is  essentially  a  Northern  man. 


306  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

Among  his  paternal  ancestors  was  the  Great  English 
historian,  Edward  Gibbon,  author  of  the  "  Decline  and 
Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,"  and  from  him  he  inherits 
fatness  and  a  turn  for  investigation.  His  energy  he 
derives  from  his  mother,  who  was  a  woman  of  the  first 
order,  and  of  great  strength  of  mind.  McAllister's 
breadth  of  nature,  genial  disposition,  grasp  of  intellect, 
and  power  of  application  were  foreshadowed  in  his  boy 
hood.  He  has  surveyed  the  whole  of  human  nature, 
takes  men  as  they  are,  never  allows  himself  to  be  soured 
or  seriously  depressed  by  misfortunes,  can  sympathize 
with  his  clients  (in  appearance  at  least),  is  void  of  ego 
tism  and  envy,  appreciative,  and,  consequently,  he  pos 
sesses  the  qualities  that  have  drawn  me  to  him  like  a 
load-stone.  He,  and  one  other  very  great  lawyer,  that  I 
knew  when  I  was  a  young  man,  were  the  only  two  who 
could  look  upon  the  system  of  law  as  intelligent  non- 
professional  men  look  upon  it.  He,  like  all  laymen  of 
large  experience,  believes  that  the  practice  of  law  hardens 
most  men  and  renders  them  insensible  to  the  torments  of 
litigation.  I  don't  think  that  McAllister  goes  quite  as 
far  as  the  famous  French  author,  Alphonse  Karr,  who 
declared  that  "  Tavocat  (lawyer)  after  ten  years  at  his 
trade,  no  longer  retains  any  distinction  between  right  and 
wrong,  truth  and  falsehood,  justice  and  injustice — all  that 
is  to  be  pleaded  !"  Hall  McAllister  differs  from  Karr  in 
other  respects,  for  he  believes  an  attorney  ought  to  listen 
to  his  client,  whom  he  encourages  to  look  up  witnesses 
that  can  strengthen  all  points.  Hall  also  asserts  that  all 
lawyers  become  lazy  and  indifferent  unless  their  clients 
stir  them  up.  When  I  told  Karr,  during  the  course  of 
my  second  lawsuit,  that  I  was  often  irritated  with  my 
attorneys,  for  the  reason  that  when  I  undertook  to  explain 
the  facts  of  my  case  to  them,  they  invariably  showed 


Hall  McAllister.  307 

signs  of  impatience — "Without  doubt  they  were  im 
patient,"  said  he,  "  for  a  knowledge  of  the  facts  would 
have  embarrassed  them." 

Although  Hall  McAllister  believes,  and  has  so  ex 
pressed  himself  to  me,  that  a  lawsuit  is  a  drama  in  which 
the  ablest  actor  wins,  yet  like  my  other  illustrious  exam 
ples,  he  has  never  suggested  that  the  system  of  law  and 
practice  can  be  essentially  improved.  That  adds  new 
proof  to  me  that  the  abuses  of  no  human  organization 
can  ever  be  corrected  by  those  who  profit  by  them. 
External  pressure  may  at  some  future  period  shorten 
statutes  of  limitation,  make  them  positive,  and,  thus  dis 
regarding  the  effect  of  extreme  negligence,  prescribe 
higher  qualifications  for  jurors,  and  enforce  their  attend 
ance  ;  require  the  previous  training  of  the  higher  judges 
in  the  inferior  courts ;  limit  precedents  to  the  decisions 
of  the  most  august  tribunals ;  secure  to  all  men  the  right 
when  charged  with  fraud,  to  a  speedy  trial,  near  the  place 
where  the  alleged  fraud  was  enacted ;  and,  finally,  to  make 
it  far  more  difficult  than  it  is  now  for  scoundrels  to  rob  and 
impoverish  honest  men  through  the  intervention  of  a  law 
suit.  There  are  men  of  a  Utopian  turn  of  mind  who  indulge 
in  hopes  that  the  time  may  come  when  the  facilities  afforded 
by  present  statutes  to  administrators,  executors,  and  trus 
tees  to  rob  the  estates  of  the  dead,  and  to  consume  and 
pillage  the  heritage  of  orphans  and  widows,  shall  be 
abridged,  but  the  tendency  of  the  times  is  in  opposition 
to  all  such  chimerical  anticipations.  The  judges  oppose 
definiteness  in  statutes,  and  when  they  are  precise  they 
are  declared  unconstitutional.  Some  new  abstraction  is 
discovered  to  annul  all  limitations  and  the  great  privilege 
of  freemen  to  sue  and  to  be  sued  can  never  be  infringed. 

Mr.  McAllister  is  fully  aware  of  the  evils  above  re 
ferred  to,  and  the  obvious  necessity  of  many  changes  in 


308  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

the  laws  and  their  administrations.  If  the  full  powers  of 
his  catholic  mind  could  be  turned  upon  the  subject,  he 
could  suggest  many  improvements.  He  is,  however,  too 
much  occupied  with  his  cases  and  other  engagements  to 
think  of  undertaking  to  reform  the  stupendous  chaos  of 
law  and  jurisprudence,  which  is  yearly  becoming  more 
complex. 

His  excellence  is  not  confined  to  any  specialty  of  his 
profession,  but  it  extends  to  many.  He  is  able  as  a 
counsellor  for  one  reason,  among  others,  that  by  convic 
tion  he  considers  litigation  an  evil.  I  don't  think  he  has 
a  superior  before  a  jury,  and  in  the  presence  of  a  full 
bench  Hoge  alone  equals  him  in  clearness  and  elegance 
of  statement.  No  man  prepares  his  cases  better  than  he, 
and  notwithstanding  the  conceit,  roguery,  and  heartless 
selfishness  exhibited  by  many  of  his  clients,  and  the  baf 
fling  assurance  of  willing  witnesses  and  perjurers,  and  the 
shuffling  obstructiveness  of  those  who  are  unwilling,  the 
stupidity  and  prejudice  of  juries,  as  well  as  the  theories 
and  wayward  ignorance  of  an  occasional  judge,  he  is  never 
thrown  from  his  balance,  and  appears  never  to  be  dis 
couraged  or  made  angry.  He  takes  time  to  amuse  him 
self,  is  often  sportive  and  gallant,  and  on  many  occasions 
in  elegant  society  he  embarrasses  me  by  the  levity  of  his 
discourse. 

I  have  witnessed  his  conduct  with  a  friendly  disposition 
for  thirty  years,  but  have  permitted  every  instance  of  his 
character  and  life  that  could  reveal  itself  to  an  intimate 
observer  to  impress  itself  with  due  effect  upon  my  judg 
ment,  and  the  conclusion  to  which  I  have  been  led  is  that 
Hall  McAllister  has  been  for  many  years  past,  and  is  now, 
the  head  of  the  California  Bar. 

There  are  many  other  lawyers  in  California  whose 
genius  and  qualifications  would,  in  the  absence  of  the 


W.  H.  L.  Barnes.  309 

three  whom  I  have  described,  enable  them  worthily  to 
supply  their  places,  but  I  can  only  refer  in  short  sentences 
to  a  few  that  I  have  known  best. 

William  H.  L.  Barnes  interests  me  because  I  knew  his 
parents,  and  have  been  long  friendly  with  him.  His  father 
was  graduated  from  the  West  Point  Military  Academy, 
high  in  the  class,  with  General  Robert  E.  Lee,  and  his 
mother  was  a  woman  of  rare  excellence.  Barnes  has  rea 
son  to  be  proud  of  his  ancestry,  and  he  possesses  versa 
tility,  brilliancy  and  gallantry  past  description.  If  he 
were  less  endowed  with  those  gifts,  his  learning,  sense 
and  judgment  would,  by  many  unimaginative  people,  be 
gauged  at  a  higher  value. 

Barnes  is  employed  in  a  great  variety  of  important 
actions,  but  he  is  especially  sought  by  those  whose  con 
nubial  felicity  has  been  wrecked,  or  is  in  a  state  of  dis 
organization. 

There  is  another  category  of  causes  in  which  his  ser 
vices  are  generally  considered  essential — to  wit,  all  such 
cases  as  arise  under  those  transcendental  statutes  that 
are  designed  to  punish  and  hold  in  check  the  specious 
youths  and  curious  seniors  who  invade  or  menace  femi 
nine  purity,  but  which,  in  effect,  encourage  the  designs 
of  unscrupulous  women  to  disturb  the  peace  and  pillage 
the  goods  of  careless  men,  and  to  destroy  sociability  be 
tween  the  sexes. 

The  most  surprising  of  all  legal  contests  originate  in 
the  vagaries  of  true  or  simulated  love.  Its  manifestations 
are  inexplicable  by  any  process  of  reasoning  or  narrative 
of  facts,  and  they  can  only  be  inferred  from  comparisons. 
A  lover's  eye  sees  an  ugly  grub  that  suddenly  changes 
to  a  butterfly.  The  butterfly  spreads  its  mealy  wings  and 
hovers  in  a  bower  of  roses.  The  susceptible  swain  pur 
sues,  and  in  the  paths  of  dalliance  resigns  himself  to  the 


3io  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

tyranny  of  sense.  Heedless  of  time  and  consequence,  he 
inhales  the  perfume  of  flowers  and  dots  his  passage  with 
scented  billets  and  love-tokens,  till  all  at  once  the  phan 
tasmagoria  vanishes,  the  butterfly  resumes  again  the  form 
of  a  grub,  and  the  idol  of  yesterday  is  the  oppression  of 
to-day. 

To  adjust  such  a  history  to  some  form  of  reason,  to 
unravel  the  tangled  meshes  in  which  the  parties  are  in 
volved,  to  discover  the  guilt  and  to  fix  it  upon  the  one 
opposed  to  him,  is  a  task  that  Mr.  Barnes  often  assumes. 
His  masterly  skill  has  given  him  renown,  but  it  has  also 
damaged  his  respect  for  his  species.  One  day  when  he 
was  returning  weary  and  disgusted  from  the  court,  where 
he  had  spent  the  day  wrangling  with  a  factious  attorney, 
I  asked  him  if  his  investigations  caused  him  to  think  bet 
ter  or  worse  of  mankind.  "  Worse  every  day,"  said  he, 
and  I  suppose  the  same  effect  is  invariably  produced  by 
all  attempts  to  make  men  and  women  virtuous  by  statute. 
In  spite  of  many  vexations,  Mr.  Barnes  has  his  consola 
tions,  for  his  fees  are  large,  and  in  addition  to  a  knowl 
edge  gained  of  all  recognizable  forms  of  wickedness,  the 
vast  scope  of  his  practice  affords  him  opportunities  to  ex 
plore  the  nebulae  of  sin. 

There  is  one  law  firm  in  San  Francisco  which  attracts 
me  by  reason  of  the  compensating  dispositions  of  its 
members.  It  is  that  of  Thornton  &  Garber.  The  former 
is  the  nephew  of  the  great  Kentucky  senator,  John  J. 
Crittenden,  and  he  is  full  of  energy,  and  so  hopeful  that 
he  anticipates  success  in  all  his  enterprises.  Defeat  in  an 
action  never  fails  to  inspire  him  with  confidence  to  renew 
the  contest.  Nothing  daunts  him,  and  he  sometimes 
asks  of  the  Court  rulings  as  strange  as  would  be  a  request 
to  change  the  orbit  of  a  planet.  Most  men  who  should 
attempt  to  imitate  Mr.  Thornton  in  this  respect  would 


Thornton  and  Garber.  311 

give  offence,  but  he  is  so  pleasant  and  polished  in  his 
manners  that  he  offends  no  one.  His  aged  mother,  nde 
Crittenden,  is  as  remarkable  for  talent  and  genius  as  was 
her  celebrated  brother,  and  many  of  his  relations  of  both 
sexes  are  distinguished  for  their  talents. 

Garber  is  the  antipode  of  his  associate,  and  misgivings 
attend  him  even  in  cases  in  which  all  the  facts  and 
equities  are  on  his  side.  His  briefs  are  prepared  in  the 
murky  atmosphere  of  distrust,  but  when  they  see  the 
light  no  eye  can  discover  defects  in  them.  His  citations 
of  law  and  precedent  are  universally  to  the  point,  and 
that  circumstance  indicates  a  positive  judgment  which  is 
incompatible  with  doubt.  His  hesitancy  is  therefore  due 
to  his  wonderful  imagination,  which  enables  him  to  analyze 
the  subtile  complications  of  the  law.  If  he  halts  in  his 
investigations  it  is  only  to  determine  the  fitness  and  co 
herence  of  nice  distinctions  with  his  subject.  It  is  ap 
parent  to  me  that  Mr.  Garber's  ability  entitles  him,  with 
out  presumption,  to  aspire  to  the  head  of  the  bar. 

There  are,  and  have  been,  lawyers  in  California  whose 
chief  employment  is  to  search  for  flaws  in  titles  and  con 
tracts  with  a  view  to  a  suit  and  contingent  fees.  One 
man  whom  I  knew,  and  whose  talents  are  recognized,  de 
fended  his  course  by  asserting  that  wrong  and  injustice 
should  be  pursued  and  exposed  wherever  they  may  be 
found  concealed.  This  idea,  pushed  to  extreme,  as  it 
always  is,  often  becomes  the  source  of  infinite  vexations, 
and  causes  much  greater  loss  than  the  thing  that's  missed. 
A  calm-visaged  attorney  tells  a  widow  woman  that  she  has 
lost  a  hare,  and  she  can  employ  him  to  recover  it.  He 
demands  a  small  sum  for  his  disbursements,  but  the 
hounds  with  which  he  hunts  must  be  fed  at  great  expense, 
and  before  the  hare  is  caught  the  widow's  cow  has  starved 
to  death. 


312  Fifty  Years*  Observation. 

The  late  John  B.  Felton  was  considered  in  some  re 
spects  the  most  remarkable  man  at  the  California  bar.  He 
was  an  innate  gentleman,  a  polished  classical  scholar,  and 
a  wit.  He  had  a  kind  of  genius  that  was  without  a  parallel, 
but  in  sound  knowledge  of  jurisprudence  he  had  many 
superiors.  His  immense  influence  arose  from  his  power 
to  delve  beneath  all  canonical,  civil,  common,  statute, 
commercial,  military  and  municipal  law,  to  avoid  stare 
deciseSy  and  to  evade  deodand,  and  it  is  certain  that  if  a 
born  citizen,  or  a  citizen  that  is  not  born,  />.,  a  corpo 
ration,  had,  with  a  club,  beaten  an  innocent  man's  brains 
out,  he  would  have  shown  that  the  club  had  been  trans 
ferred  to  innocent  hands,  become  a  vested  right,  and  was 
no  longer  subject  to  confiscation.  His  peculiar  genius  en 
abled  him  to  cast  a  fierce  light  upon  relations,  facts,  and 
duties  that  are  not  apparent  to  ordinary  minds,  and  his 
facile  eloquence  was  so  seductive  that  he  could  convince 
the  Court  or  a  jury  that  a  man  might  do  what  he  pleased 
with  himself,  his  talents  and  his  possessions,  or  that  he 
could  do  nothing,  as  his  cause  required.  He  was  equally 
potent  to  obscure  a  good  title  as  to  mend  a  bad  one, 
and  for  that  reason  he  was  feared  and  respected  by  all 
parties.  He  gained  enormous  contingent  fees,  as  well  as 
such  as  were  specific,  and  was  habitually  paid  large  re 
tainers  to  remain  quiet.  Such  subsidies,  without  service, 
contributed  to  an  occasional  sluggishness  and  a  careless 
ness  with  his  own  interests,  which,  since  his  death,  has 
given  much  trouble  to  his  amiable  widow.  Mr.  Felton  had 
many  friends,  and  his  premature  death  was  much  la 
mented. 

I  am  on  terms  of  friendship  with  many  other  judges  and 
lawyers  of  whom  I  could  relate  anecdotes  if  my  space 
would  permit,  but  I  must  confine  my  notice  of  them  to  a 
single  page. 


The  California  Bench.  313 

Judge  Ogden  Hoffman,  of  the  United  States  District 
Court,  to  whom  I  have  made  frequent  allusions,  has  been 
on  the  Bench  about  thirty  years,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
appointment  he  was  the  youngest  of  all  the  Federal 
judges.  Many  of  his  opinions  have  been  famous,  especi 
ally  those  rendered  in  land  cases,  and  the  title  to  the 
Alirmden  quicksilver  mine.  He  is  a  polished  scholar,  and 
his  brightness  has  been  at  all  times  admired.  He  is  elo 
quent,  genial,  and  well  bred  by  inheritance,  and  my 
friendly  intimacy  of  over  thirty  years  with  him  has  never 
known  the  slightest  interruption.  Together  we  have  dis 
cussed  every  topic  and  subject  with  which  I  am 
acquainted.  On  most  of  them  he  is  sufficiently  lucid,  but 
his  theology  I  have  never  been  able  to  grasp.  I  have 
clutched  at  it,  but  have  it  not. 

With  Judge  McKinstry,  of  the  California  Supreme 
Court,  and  his  family,  I  am  also  on  terms  of  cordial  social 
intercourse.  He  is  a  distinguished  gentleman,  and  is 
honored  in  his  position.  His  wife  and  daughter  are  orna 
ments  to  society,  his  sons  are  promising,  and  few  families 
in  California  are  more  attractive. 

Judge  John  S.  Hageris  now  retired  from  the  profession 
of  the  law.  While  he  was  on  the  Bench,  a  legal  friend  of 
mine  remarked  to  me  that  Judge  Hager  was  a  man  of 
learning,  a  gentleman,  and  incorruptible.  Mrs.  Hager, 
ne'e  Lucas,  is  of  French  descent,  and  reminds  me  of 
several  grande  dames  I  saw  in  Normandy.  Her  manners, 
intelligence,  and  force  of  will  make  her  quite  conspicuous, 
and  her  wealth  enables  her  to  be  charmingly  hospitable. 

Judge  Cope  is  another  of  the  profession  in  California, 
who  to  elegance  of  manners  adds  legal  ability  of  a  high 
order  and  an  incorruptible  character.  I  hold  him  and 
his  family  in  high  esteem.  His  worthy  partner,  James  T. 
Boyd,  has  long  been  among  my  most  intimate  and 
14 


3!4  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

cherished  friends,  and  there  are  many  more  whose 
society  I  find  pleasant  and  instructive,  especially  Evans, 
Mastick,  Harrison,  Reardon,  Judge  Wright,  Lough- 
borough,  John  T.  Doyle,  who  is  the  most  accomplished 
scholar  at  the  Bar;  Judge  Thornton  and  many  more. 
Among  my  lay  acquaintances  no  man  stands  higher  than 
John  Benson.  He  has  many  attractions,  and  so  have  W. 
F.  Babcock,  Eugene  L.  Sullivan,  and  William  Moor. 

It  was  my  design  also  to  refer  to  the  most  prominent 
merchants,  bankers,  mechanics,  viniculturists,  pomologists, 
and  agriculturists  of  my  acquaintance,  with  a  view  to 
give  an  idea  of  the  material  progress  of  the  State  of  Cali 
fornia.  By  a  short  reference  to  this  subject,  I  should  be 
in  danger  of  making  invidious  distinctions,  and  a  full  his 
tory  would  require  a  separate  volume.  The  activity  and 
the  enterprise  that  have  been  displayed  in  the  last  thirty 
years  could  only  be  fully  understood  by  such  as  remem 
ber  the  barren  appearance  and  meagre  productions  of 
1850,  to  contrast  them  with  the  abundance  now  enjoyed. 
The  transformations  are  like  miracles,  and  incline  us  to 
credit  the  fable  of  the  Hesperian  gardens — 

"Which  one  day  bloomed,  and  fruitful  were  the  next." 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

General  Scott's  visit  to  the  Pacific  Coast. — His  conduct  and  character  in  old 
age. — His  appearance. — Judge  Ogden  Hoffman. — My  appointment  as 
Military  Secretary.  — Scott's  growing  fondness  for  money. — His  inactivi 
ty.  — My  own  state  upon  resuming  service  with  him. — Some  general  opin 
ions. — Scott's  feeling  as  to  sectional  politics  — Return  to  Washington. — 
Various  social  events. — Visit  of  the  Prince  of  Wales. — Affairs  in  the  be 
ginning  of  1860. 

"  In  life's  last  scene  what  prodigies  surprise, 
Fears  of  the  brave  and  follies  of  the  wise. " 

HAVING  been  on  duty  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  I  did  not 
see  General  Scott  during  the  five  years  next  preced 
ing  the  month  of  October,  1859,  when  he  landed  at  San 
Francisco  on  his  way  to  Puget  Sound.  He  was  under 
orders  to  investigate  the  disputed  boundary  between  the 
British  possessions  and  our  territory  which  then  vexed 
the  councils  of  England  and  America.  Returning,  he 
stopped  a  few  days  in  San  Francisco,  where  he  received 
me  with  his  usual  cordiality.  The  exhilaration  of 
the  voyage,  the  success  of  his  mission,  and  the  enthusias 
tic  reception  he  had  everywhere  met,  revived  his  spirits, 
and  except  that  his  bulk  had  greatly  increased  at  the  ex 
pense  of  his  bodily  activity,  the  signs  of  old  age  were 
not  very  apparent,  although  he  was  then  74  years  old. 
He  was  pleased  with  the  country,  spoke  hopefully  of  its 
prospects,  and  was  astonished  to  find  so  many  luxuries  and 
comforts  in  a  city  only  ten  years  old.  He  said  he  had 
found  more  good  fishes  in  Puget  Sound  and  its  tributaries 
than  anywhere  else  in  the  world.  He  thought  the  silver 


3*6  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

salmon  and  some  of  the  trout  of  those  waters  were  sur 
passingly  excellent.  I  dined  with  him  at  the  old  Oriental 
Hotel,  which  was  then  the  best  in  the  city.  The  general  ate 
and  drank  with  a  good  appetite,  told  many  anecdotes  of  his 
past  experience,  related  his  observations  during  his  long 
voyage,  and  all  his  guests  retired  full  of  admiration  for 
the  old  hero. 

The  morning  following  the  dinner  I  called  again.  I 
was  at  the  time  on  leave  of  absence,  with  orders  to  report 
for  duty  at  Fortress  Monroe,  Va.  My  leave  having  near 
ly  expired,  the  general  told  me  I  must  sail  in  the  same 
ship  with  him.  My  affairs  in  San  Francisco  needed  my 
attention  a  while  longer,  and  I  ventured  to  ask  him  to  ex 
tend  my  leave,  which  he  consented  to  do  with  a  slight 
show  of  reluctance,  and  shortly  afterwards  he  embarked 
for  New  York. 

I  left  in  the  steamer  of  December  1st,  and  arrived  in 
New  York  on  the  morning  of  the  24th.  Judge  Ogden 
Hoffman,  of  the  United  States  District  Court,  was  in  the 
ship  with  me,  and  we  occupied  berths  in  the  same  state 
room.  The  judge  challenged  me  to  an  effort  of  memory 
on  the  passage  to  Panama.  We  undertook  to  recite 
Gray's  Elegy  in  a  Country  Churchyard,  which  I  had  never 
learned  by  heart,  and  the  judge  said  he  had  not.  We  met 
at  about  eleven  o'clock  every  morning,  and  I  managed, 
after  painful  efforts,  to  recite  with  tolerable  accuracy  two 
stanzas,  but  the  judge  would  tell  off  two,  and  sometimes 
three,  with  a  readiness  that  astonished  me.  All  my 
efforts  enabled  me  to  master  less  than  half  the  poem,  but 
Hoffman  went  through  the  whole,  and  at  the  conclusion 
he  walked  away  with  the  air  of  a  fighting-cock  after  a 
victory.  I  was  ignorant  of  Hoffman's  process,  till  at  the 
end  of  two  months  after  our  arrival  in  New  York  he  told 
me  he  had  found  a  book  in  the  ship's  barber's  shop  contain- 


Return  to  Scotfs  Staff.  317 

ing  the  Elegy,  which  he  placed  open  before  him  and  studied 
while  the  barber  arranged  his  hair  and  cut  his  beard. 

The  father  of  Judge  Hoffman  was  long  the  intimate 
friend  and  associate  of  General  Scott,  at  whose  house  the 
son  in  his  youthful  days  was  a  most  welcome  visitor.  It 
was,  therefore,  alike  the  inclination  and  duty  of  the  judge 
and  myself  to  honor  him  with  our  first  respects.  Accord 
ingly  we  found  our  way  to  the  general's  residence  on 
Twelfth  Street  the  evening  of  the  day  we  landed.  Hav 
ing  sent  up  our  cards,  we  were  ushered  into  a  large  parlor, 
where  the  general  was  seated  alone  in  a  spacious  arm 
chair.  Notwithstanding  the  room  seemed  to  me  oppres 
sively  warm,  he  had  on  over  his  thick  winter  clothing  a 
large,  knit,  woollen  afghan.  He  did  not  rise  from  his 
chair,  but  he  gave  to  each  of  us  in  succession  both  his 
hands,  and  greeted  us  in  terms  of  warmest  regard.  While 
I  stood  in  the  presence  of  the  venerable  patriot  my 
memory  flashed  upon  the  past,  to  reveal  a  thousand  ad 
vantages  and  pleasures  which  I  owed  to  him.  At  the  end 
of  half  an  hour,  as  we  rose  to  depart,  the  general  said  to 
me  :  "  After  you  have  seen  your  children  and  friends, 
come  to  my  office,  and  I  shall,  in  a  few  days,  have  some 
thing  to  say  which  will  interest  you." 

In  obedience  to  his  suggestion,  on  the  morning  of  the 
third  day  after  my  arrival  I  reported  at  the  army  head 
quarters,  which  were  then  in  New  York,  and  was  as  kind 
ly  received  as  before  in  his  private  office,  where  he  was 
alone.  He  then  told  me  that  the  law  which  bestowed 
upon  him  the  rank  of  lieutenant-general  in  the  army  al 
lowed  him  a  military  secretary,  with  the  rank  of  lieuten 
ant-colonel.  "  I  have  never  filled  the  place,"  said  he, 
"  but  I  have  offered  it  to  Colonel  Robert  E.  Lee,  who  is 
now  on  duty  in  Texas,  and  who  is  a  full  colonel.  My  ex 
pectation  is  that  Colonel  Lee  will  decline  my  invitation, 


318  fifty   Years'  Observation. 

because  its  acceptance  would  place  him  on  duty  in  a 
grade  below  his  actual  rank.  If  he  does  decline,  young 
gentleman,  I  shall  offer  the  place  to  you." 

Events  followed  quickly,  as  the  General  had  foretold. 
Colonel  Lee  declined  for  the  exact  reasons  specified ;  at 
the  same  time  he  was  lavish  in  thanks  and  terms  of  ad 
miration  for  his  old  chief.  I  was  therefore  installed  as 
the  Confidential  Military  Secretary  of  the  Lieutenant- 
General,  commanding  the  United  States  Army,  on  the 
1st  day  of  January,  1860,  and  from  that  time  forward  till 
the  2d  day  of  April,  1861,  was  in  daily  attendance  upon 
him.  Knowing  his  admiration  for  Colonel  Lee,  and  that 
he  had  so  many  worthy  officers  to  choose  from,  I  con 
sidered  his  selection  of  me  as  an  extraordinary  compli 
ment. 

After  General  Scott  had  offered  the  secretaryship  to 
Colonel  Lee,  and  while  the  offer  was  still  pending,  Lieu 
tenant  Lay,  A.D.C.,  remarked  to  him,  "  What  will  they 
say,  General,  if  all  the  staff  are  Southerners?"  They 
would  have  all  been  Southerners  if  Lee  had  accepted. 
The  General  replied  :  u  If  the  Southern  rascals  will  have 
so  much  merit,  how  can  we  fail  to  advance  them !  "  This 
recognition  of  the  swelling  and  obtrusive  merits  of  men 
of  his  own  kith,  denoted,  among  many  other  signs,  that  he 
was  growing  old  and  returning  to  his  first  loves.  His 
vanity  had  assumed  new  and  varied  aspects.  "  At  my 
time  of  life,"  he  would  often  remark,  "a  man  requires 
compliments."  Instead  of  boasting  that  he  was  six  feet 
four  and  a  quarter  inches  tall,  he  would  display  in  his 
rooms  his  bust  in  marble  as  well  as  portraits  of  himself  at 
various  ages,  and  it  occurred  to  me  that  he  was  pleased 
that  I  should  admire  them.  He  would  from  time  to  time 
refer  to  the  great  historical  commanders,  and  match  his 
own  exploits  with  theirs.  He  would  narrate  the  good 


New  Traits  of  Scott.  3X9 

qualities  of  his  earlier  associates,  and  assign  almost  un 
imaginable  virtues  to  many  Southern  men,  making  them 
much  better  than  the  men  I  have  known  in  any  part  of 
my  life ;  at  the  same  time  he  would  make  his  enemies 
appear  blacker,  more  perfidious  and  ungrateful,  than  the 
wretches  who  have  pestered  me,  with,  say,  seven  or  eight 
exceptions.  He  seemed  more  anxious  than  he  formerly 
was  to  call  attention  to  the  elegancies  of  his  style  of 
writing,  although  it  appeared  to  me  his  style  had  not  im 
proved.  He  always  had  the  habit  of  speaking  of  his 
bodily  infirmities,  want  of  sleep,  want  of  time  to  take 
necessary  food,  and  this  habit  had  increased.  Neverthe 
less,  he  would  say  to  an  inquirer  that  he  was  in  vulgar 
health,  and  more  than  once,  when  he  was  taking  a  foot 
bath,  he  would  call  my  attention  to  his  bared  limbs,  and 
say,  "  Most  men  at  my  age  are  covered  all  over  with 
bunches,  but  you  see  my  flesh  is  fair."  He  had  many 
new  subjects  on  which  he  intended  to  write  at  some  fu 
ture  time,  such  as  his  plan  to  improve  the  health  and 
good  looks  of  men,  to  make  them  temperate,  the  best 
method  to  get  rid  of  pauperism,  slavery,  etc.  I  was  once 
speaking  to  him  of  a  book  I  had  read,  giving  conversa 
tions  with  the  inmates  of  a  mad-house.  He  told  me  he 
had  often  had  it  in  his  head  to  write  on  the  same  subject, 
the  nature  of  which  will  be  better  understood  when  I 
relate  my  subsequent  experience. 

In  1862  and  1863  I  had  the  charge  and  supervision 
within  m)'  lines  of  the  Insane  Asylum  at  Williamsburg, 
Va.  I  made  it  a  point  to  converse  frequently  with  the 
inmates.  One  learned  and  dignified  man  was  about  to 
discover  a  perpetual  motion,  which  would  be  completed 
at  my  next  visit.  He  had  constructed  a  strange-looking 
machine  to  illustrate,  as  he  said,  "  the  forces  evolved  by 
the  unstable  equilibrium  of  two  bodies  acting  in  parallel 


32°  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

lines."  He  would  have  talked  me  crazy,  if  I  had  waited 
till  he  had  completed  his  explanations.  I  also  listened 
to  several  women,  whose  reason  had  given  way  to  relig 
ious  mania,  and  others  who  had  become  discouraged  in 
their  efforts  to  make  the  world  as  good  as  themselves.  If 
my  sympathies  were  touched  by  the  fantasies  and  vaga 
ries  of  the  sufferers  who  were  shut  up  in  confinement,  I 
was  amazed  when  I  went  to  Washington  and  heard  the 
humanitarians  who  flocked  to  that  resort  to  unfold  their 
schemes  to  banish  war,  crime,  and  roguery,  to  annul  the 
passions  of  youth  and  the  greed  of  avarice,  and  make  all 
men  wise,  candid,  and  happy.  When  conversing  with  6ne 
of  these  last,  I  would  look  around  to  see  if  I  was  not  in 
the  asylum,  and,  not  finding  myself  there,  I  concluded  the 
lunatic  with  whom  I  conversed  had  escaped.  The  drift 
of  General  Scott's  conversation  coincided  remotely  with 
the  foregoing  remarks. 

The  number  of  the  General's  stones  had  diminished,  and 
such  as  he  retained  he  often  repeated,  but  I  never  gave 
him  to  understand  that  I  had  heard  them  before.  The  ma 
jority  of  his  numerous  maxims  had  lost  their  martial  type 
and  assumed  a  character  of  thrift  and  prudence.  His  affec 
tions,  which  had  formerly  been  wholly  absorbed  by  glory 
and  personal  distinction,  were  now  turning  with  a  longing 
gaze  upon  gold,  upon  yellow,  precious,  glittering  gold  ! 

Towards  the  end  of  every  month  I  would  see  him 
adjust  his  spectacles,  and  make  rows  and  files  of  figures 
on  bits  of  paper.  His  bank-book  was  before  him  con 
taining  checks  and  other  papers,  and  after  examining 
everything  over  and  over,  he  would  drive  to  the  bank  in 
his  one-horse  coup£  and  make  his  deposits.  His  other 
qualities  had  been  modified  by  time,  but  this  passion  of 
avarice  was  apparently  new  in  him,  and  he  excused  it  by 
saying,  "  At  my  time  of  life  I  need  all  the  comforts."  But 


Dinners  with  Scott.  321 

why  should  he  excuse  himself  for  a  passion  that  so  uni 
versally  gains  possession  of  men,  not  more  by  reason  of 
their  advancing  years,  than  from  their  past  experience? 
His  weakened  health  and  declining  influence,  especially 
at  the  South,  tended  to  sadness,  and  every  day  he  could 
see  around  him  evidences  of  the  all-pervading  power  of 
wealth,  and  how  with  baneful  stealth  when  massed  in 
syndicates,  or  combined  in  corporations,  it  suborns  and 
bends  to  its  purposes  all  the  most  able  men  and  women 
of  the  country.  Its  influence,  like  pestilence  in  the  hov 
ering  air,  permeates  our  halls  of  legislation,  the  bench 
and  bar,  and  even  the  sanctuary.  With  gold  I  can  hire 
a  pagan  idolater  to  profane  his  gods  !  It  was  therefore 
not  his  present  parsimony  that  surprised  me,  but  the  con 
trast  it  offered  to  his  former  practices. 

The  time  was  when  he  would  frequently  count  the 
money  in  his  purse,  and  sometimes  rinding  seven,  ten,  or 
fifteen  dollars  more  than  he  expected,  he  would  say:  "  I 
am  seven  or  ten  dollars  richer  than  I  thought  I  was 
(which  was  very  strange  for  a  prodigal  like  him) ;  let's  go 
to  the  club,  or  to  Delmonico's,  and  dine."  So  off  we 
would  go,  and  he  would,  as  a  rule,  order  soup,  fish 
(sometimes  salmon,  though  I  liked  codfish  or  bass  better), 
tete  de  veau  en  tortue,  apple  fritters — for  the  two  last 
named  dishes  he  had  an  unvarying  fondness — sherry  and 
champagne.  Once  at  the  table,  with  these  good  things 
before  me,  and  he  the  paymaster,  my  voice  was  attuned 
to  his.  Vulgar  complimentary  platitudes,  that  can  be 
bought  in  the  market  and  would  be  dear  at  a  penny  a 
gross,  I  never  dealt  in.  Some  remark  of  his  would  send 
my  imagination  in  search  of  an  apt  quotation,  or  some 
other  form  of  expression,  to  nurse  the  idea  he  had  started, 
and  he  would  soon  begin  to  glow  with  self-content.  Then, 
while  words  flowed  from  my  mouth  like  water  from  a 
14* 


322  Fifty   Years    Observation. 

spout,  he  would  keep  my  glass  full,  and  I  would,  while 
the  bottles  lasted,  continue  to  pour  streams  of  good  wine 
down  my  throat. 

While  I  confess  to  my  former  extraordinary  fondness 
for  rich  soups  and  juicy  meats,  and  my  appreciation  of 
the  vivifying  influence  of  dry  wines,  I  often  realfzed  how 
extensively  I  indulged  in  those  luxuries  at  the  expense  of 
others.  I  once  dined  out  by  invitation  in  the  city  of 
New  York  twenty-one  days  in  succession.  Notwithstand 
ing  I  proclaimed  myself  a  poor  officer  of  the  army,  living 
on  his  meagre  pay,  my  conscience  was  occasionally  smit 
ten  with  qualms,  and  I  would  soothe  myself  with  the 
hope  that  I  should  some  time  be  rich  and  able  to  pay  my 
debts  of  hospitality.  That  hope  was  a  vague  and  fruit 
less  impulsion  of  gratitude,  and  the  death  or  insensibility 
to  enjoyments  of  most  of  those  who  entertained  me  has 
rendered  its  accomplishment  impossible.  As  I  have  con 
tinued  my  survey  of  the  conduct  of  society  I  have  learned 
that  a  man  is  not  often  invited  to  a  feast  when  his  com 
pany  is  not  wanted.  It  may  be  I  possessed  certain 
attractions  not  recognizable  by  myself,  and  it  is  certain 
that  I  never  employed  a  complimentary  expression  to 
wards  General  Scott  (and  seldom  to  any  one  else)  that  I 
ever  heard  addressed  to  him  by  another.  The^  occa 
sion  gave  birth  to  my  compliments,  and  therefore  I 
imitated  none,  and  none  could  imitate  me.  Thus  it  is 
that  my  remorse  for  neglected  requitals  has  gradually 
diminished,  and  I  shall  reserve  much  of  my  repentance 
and  many  of  my  orisons  for  sins  of  a  graver  complexion. 

Another  striking  contrast  to  his  former  self,  and  a 
dreadful  token  of  age,  was  his  bodily  inactivity.  He 
moved  slowly  and  with  pain,  and  it  distressed  him  to 
ascend  three  or  four  steps.  Consequently  his  office,  bed 
room,  dining  and  sitting-room  must  all  be  on  the  ground 


Scott  and  the  Barcelona.  323 

floor.  His  bulk  was  immense,  but  the  expression  of  his 
eye  and  countenance  had  lost  its  fire.  Seeing  him  thus, 
I  naturally  recalled  his  appearance  when  I  joined  him  in 
my  youth,  and  for  several  years  afterwards. 

The  most  imposing  show  he  ever  made  was  during  the 
Canadian  Patriot  troubles  a  month  or  more  after  the 
"  Caroline  affair."  The  Barcelona  was  to  be  taken  up 
from  Black  Rock  to  Buffalo,  and  it  had  been  rumored 
that  the  British  commander  was  going  to  fire  on  her  as 
she  passed  a  battery  he  had  established  on  the  left  bank 
of  the  Niagara  River.  Having  heard  the  rumor,  the 
general  dressed  himself  in  full  uniform  and  repaired  to  a 
point  on  the  shore  which  was  directly  opposite  the  Eng 
lish  guns.  There,  by  chance,  he  found  an  old  oak  that 
had  been  blown  down.  The  tree  was  but  slightly  in 
clined,  and  was  lying  almost  parallel  with  the  stream,  and 
the  bright  sun  enabled  us  to  see  clearly  the  English 
soldiers  on  the  opposite  shore.  As  the  vessel  approached 
the  general  clambered  upon  the  old  oak,  the  trunk  of 
which  was  six  or  eight  feet  in  diameter  and  bare  of  limbs 
thirty  or  forty  feet  from  the  upturned  roots.  He  appeared 
taller  than  before,  and  as  he  strode  to  and  fro  on  his  high 
wooden  walk,  his  cocked  hat  looked  higher,  and  his 
plumes  spread  wider  than  ever.  Seizing  the  moment 
when  the  prow  of  the  Barcelona  was  directly  opposite  us, 
he  faced  the  foe  and  drew  his  sword,  jerking  it  from  its 
scabbard  and  flinging  its  point  skyward,  as  he  would 
flaunt  the  moon.  Then  bringing  his  weapon  to  a  carry, 
he  scowled  upon  Canada!  holding  his  vast  height  up- 
stretched  to  its  extremest  altitude.  Never  did  knight  of 
chivalry,  though  but  fabled,  present  a  shape  more  heroic. 
He  glistened  with  burnished  steel  and  gold,  and  was  as 
gorgeous  to  look  upon  as  a  king  of  Sara.  Though  he  was 
not  fired  upon,  he  frequently  referred  to  this  defiant  man- 


324  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

ifestation,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  it  was  several  hours 
after  he  came  down  from  that  old  tree  before  his  fiery 
scintillations  and  bristling  flurry  had  wholly  subsided. 

The  changes  which  age  and  political  agitations  had 
wrought  in  General  Scott  after  I  ceased  to  be  his  aide-de 
camp  until  I  rejoined  him  as  secretary  were  probably  less 
than  I  had  undergone  in  my  disposition  and  views  of 
life,  by  reason  of  my  varied  experience.  While  I  was 
first  with  him  I  was  wholly  influenced  by  my  training  at 
the  Military  Academy,  and  a  blind  admiration  for  his 
personal  character.  His  theories  of  morality  and  honor 
embraced  no  reference  to  trade  and  barter ;  and  when  I 
engaged  in  business  in  California  I  was  disposed  to 
trust  everybody,  and  to  think  it  impossible  that  an  inti 
mate  friend  could  cheat  me.  As  a  consequence,  I  found 
myself  swindled  right  and  left  out  of  nearly  all  my  gains, 
and  while  I  supposed  it  impossible  that  any  man  could 
distrust  my  integrity,  I  found  myself  duped  and  involved 
in  legal  strife.  When  all  this  had  taken  place,  I  sudden 
ly  wakened  to  the  conclusion  that  a  man  who  would  gain 
money  or  fame  must  depend  chiefly  upon  his  own  sagac 
ity  and  courage.  From  that  hour,  having  first  looked  in 
the  glass  and  sworn  at  the  silly  visage  I  saw  reflected,  I 
began  to  thrive,  and  in  a  short  time  I  achieved  pecuniary 
independence,  which  is  more  soothing  to  the  nerves  than 
all  the  anodynes  of  the  pharmacopoeia. 

Other  striking  changes  in  my  character  had  been  pro 
duced  by  the  continuous  sectional  strife  which  disturbed 
the  country  and  finally  ended  in  civil  war.  Among  the 
champions  of  the  Northern  cause  there  were  hundreds  of 
abler  men  than  I,  but  none  more  noisy  and  outspoken 
on  all  occasions.  Polemic  and  humanitarian  problems  I 
neglected  absolutely,  and  limited  my  exertions  in  efforts 
to  induce  Northern  representatives  to  assert  their  rights 


My  Health.  325 

to  proportionate  civil  and  military  commands  and  honors. 
By  so  doing,  I  was  in  advance  of  the  times,  and  all  my 
exertions  served  but  one  purpose,  which  was  to  season 
me  for  a  scapegoat,  at  the  same  time  that  they  cooled  the 
old  affections  of  General  Scott. 

As  I  have  described  the  physical  condition  of  my  chief 
when  I  joined  him  as  secretary,  it  is  but  just  that  I  should 
tell  what  was  my  own  at  the  same  date.  A  winter  cam 
paign  against  the  Puget  Sound  Indians  had  done  far 
more  than  all  the  hardships  and  gayeties  of  my  former 
life  to  strain  my  constitution,  and  for  a  time  I  feared  I 
must  take  my  chance  with  the  physic-taking,  sour-visaged 
race  of  valetudinarians.  A  short  trial  with  doctors  in 
creased  my  fears  and  maladies,  and  induced  me  to  throw 
all  their  drugs  to  the  dogs,  and  assume  the  care  of  my 
self.  In  that  way  I  shortly  regained  my  health,  and  at 
the  time  referred  to  I  was  unconscious  of  any  bodily 
weakness  or  ailment.  The  general  always  accused  me  of 
an  immense  sleeping  power.  In  one  respect  he  was  cor 
rect,  for  it  was  my  invariable  habit,  when  not  dis 
turbed,  to  take  only  one  nap  in  the  twenty-four  hours, 
which  I  could  depend  on  to  last,  every  day  in  the  year, 
eight  hours  at  least.  He,  like  many  other  men,  often 
boasted  that  he  could  do  with  much  less.  It  was  my 
opinion  and  computation,  however,  that  his  several  diur 
nal  naps  were  equal  in  duration  to  my  one.  I  have  been 
thus  specific  in  describing  the  changes  which  time  and  ex 
perience  had  wrought  in  my  chief  and  me  while  I  had 
been  separated  from  his  military  family.  He  was  living 
in  the  past,  and  for  the  present  he  was  absorbed  by  fears 
of  civil  war  and  attention  to  his  bodily  weakness  and 
pains.  For  myself,  while  I  was  in  a  condition  to  enjoy 
the  present  with  infinite  zest,  I  lived  more  in  the  future 
than  ever  before.  I  had  no  dread  of  the  approaching 


326  Fifty  Years*  Observation. 

civil  war,  which  I  had  been  brought  to  conclude  was  the 
only  possible  solution  of  the  vexed  question  of  slavery. 

The  French  Socialist,  Paul  Louis  Courier,  in  his  spleen 
against  human  society,  occasionally  emitted  brilliant 
sparks.  He  declared  that  mankind  are  by  nature  canailliere, 
and  that,  if  there  were  but  three  men  in  the  world,  the 
second  would  lift  his  hat  to  the  first  and  say,  monseigneur, 
and  the  two  would  combine  to  make  the  third  work  for 
them.  The  truth  of  this  remark  I  have  often  verified  in 
all  the  societies  and  throngs  of  men  wherever  I  have  jour 
neyed  over  the  face  of  the  earth.  Our  race  is  all  em 
braced  in  four  grand  divisions,  which  are  typified  by  mas 
ter  and  slave,  sycophant  and  hermit ;  for  those  who  refuse 
to  be  classified  must  consent  to  dwell  alone.  From  the 
organization  of  our  Government  the  master  and  slave 
were  at  the  South,  the  sycophant  at  the  North,  and  the 
hermit  by  himself.  The  sycophant  frequently  shoots 
madly  from  his  sphere  and  becomes  a  tyrannous  master. 
I  am  not  by  nature  either  sycophant  or  tyrant,  and  I  had 
become  weary  of  being  obliged  to  simulate  the  former  to 
avoid  being  a  hermit,  and  as  a  natural  consequence  I  lis 
tened  to  the  thunders  of  sectional  discord  as  they  grew 
louder  with  far  more  pleasure  than  pain. 

My  admiration  and  gratitude  for  my  benefactor  had  not 
lost  their  fervor,  but  it  was  impossible  that  I  could  every 
day  witness  the  ravages  that  time  had  wrought  upon  the 
mind  and  body  of  the  hero  of  my  youthful  fancy  and  not 
find  my  admiration  giving  way  to  sympathy,  and  some 
times  to  pity.  Amidst  the  general  decay,  two  affections 
in  him  remained  in  undiminished  and  apparently  in 
creased  prominence — his  attachment  to  the  Union  and  his 
love  for  his  native  South.  For  myself,  I  cared  not  to  pre 
serve  the  Union  (although  its  value  I  regarded  as  ines 
timable)  under  the  old  conditions,  and  if  my  early  train- 


Politics  in  1860.  327 

ing,  to  love  the  place  of  my  birth,  had  been  defective, 
pride  enabled  me  to  supply  the  deficiency,  and  whenever 
his  Southern  sectionalism  showed  itself,  my  Northern  bias 
became  at  once  spontaneously  apparent.  The  conditions 
of  our  association  had,  therefore,  undergone  a  radical 
change,  and  I  was  not  slow  to  observe  a  decline  in  his 
affection  for  me,  although  he  insisted  on  my  being  near 
him  more  constantly  than  ever  before.  But  the  vigor  of 
Omar  had  departed  and  Keled  had  lost  his  docility — and 
while  the  envenomed  national  feud  was  developing  a 
bloody  issue,  irritations  accumulated,  and  finally  termi 
nated  in  a  temporary  estrangement  between  him  and  me. 

From  January  to  May,  1860,  the  general's  headquarters 
being  in  New  York  City,  he  received  numerous  visitors, 
and  the  almost  unvarying  subject  of  conversation  was 
"  the  state  of  the  Union."  The  strife  of  the  two  great 
political  parties  was  raging  in  fury  in  anticipation  of  the 
Presidential  election,  which  was  to  take  place  the  next 
autumn.  Speculations  were  rife  as  to  who  would  be  the 
chosen  candidate.  General  Scott,  although  he  had  long 
since  apparently  renounced  his  political  aspirations,  was 
tormented  with  many  letters.  On  the  iQth  of  April,  he 
showed  me  one  which  he  had  just  received  from  a  gentle 
man  in  Iowa  City,  Iowa,  to  say  that  if  he  (the  general) 
would  send  the  writer  funds,  he  would  attend  the  Chi 
cago  convention  and  procure  his  nomination  for  the 
Presidency.  The  man  professed  great  admiration  for 
General  Scott,  who  treated  his  letter  with  contemptuous 
silence.  My  chief  was  beset  daily  by  beggars,  who  came 
for  themselves  and  others  to  lay  siege  to  his  purse.  His 
kindness  of  manner  to  these  mendicants  encouraged  im 
posture,  and  he  often  gave  money  to  the  undeserving. 

In  the  month  of  April  the  Democratic  convention  was 
sitting  in  Charleston.  The  composition  of  that  body  of 


328  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

politicians  was  as  various  and  incongruous  as  the  in 
gredients  of  the  witches'  caldron.  Northern  men,  or  some 
of  them,  began  there  to  find  themselves  out  of  place.  Mr. 
Benjamin  Butler  was  a  member,  and  probably  he  found 
in  the  debates  reasons  for  a  future  change  of  base. 

About  the  same  time  I  received  a  letter  from  an  army 
associate,  who  was  a  Southerner  and  a  State  sovereignty 
man,  which  covered  sixteen  large  pages.  The  letter  was 
intended  to  convince  me  of  the  futility  of  all  attempts  on 
the  part  of  the  North  to  coerce  the  slave  States.  The 
writer  attempted  to  prove  from  history  that  a  country 
like  the  South,  which  he  called  Pastoral,  had  never  been 
conquered.  He  cited  Parthia,  Arabia,  Switzerland,  and 
America ;  but  all  his  citations  and  reasonings  appeared 
equally  inconsequential  to  me.  The  general  was  in  the 
office  with  me,  and  asked  who  it  was  that  sent  me  such  a 
stupendous  document,  and  what  it  contained.  I  told  him 
the  name  of  my  correspondent,  and  that  I  was  only  able 
to  say  it  was  a  huge  vehicle  of  words  that  conveyed  little. 
"It  is,"  said  I,  ;<like  employing  a  six-mule  wagon  to 
transport  one  tallow  candle."  I  added — "Thinks  the 
North  can  never  subdue  the  South."  At  this  the  gen 
eral's  face  clouded,  and  he  made  a  snappish  remark 
which  I  have  forgotten.  I  could  never  criticise  the  South, 
or  anything  in  the  South,  before  General  Scott  that  he  did 
not  manifest  a  certain  degree  of  displeasure.  Nearly  all 
Southerners  resembled  him  in  this  respect.  Once,  while 
we  were  journeying  from  Charleston  to  the  Cherokee 
country,  I  frequently  called  his  attention  to  the  skeleton 
hogs  I  saw  near  the  road.  On  the  coast — "poor  as  a 
sand-hill  hog  "  is  a  current  saying.  Farther  up  the  coun 
try  the  hogs  are  as  thin  as  hounds,  and  can  run  as  fast, 
and  jump  further.  I  told  the  general  I  had  seen  a  hog 
turn  while  in  the  air  and  jet  through  a  rail-fence  flat-ways, 


A  Dinner  at  the  President's.  329 

and  that  in  the  Cherokee  country  the  hogs  lived  on  rattle 
snakes,  which  made  them  so  fierce.  More  than  a  year 
after  our  journey  he  referred  to  my  savage  comments  on 
Southern  hogs. 

I  find  by  my  journal  that  I  was  in  Washington  with 
General  Scott  from  May  I  to  May  19,  1860,  and  that 
we  lived  at  Wormley's,  where  we  had  our  private  table. 
In  his  company  I  attended  a  series  of  splendid  dinner 
parties.  At  President  Buchanan's  the  company  was  com 
posed  of  sixteen  gentlemen  and  sixteen  ladies.  At  that 
dinner  I  had  a  lady  on  one  side  and  Senator  Zach  Chand 
ler  on  the  other  side.  The  Senator  was  full  of  war  and 
blood,  though  he  lowered  his  voice  to  a  whisper  in 
speaking  to  me,  saying :  "  Before  the  rebels  get  to  Wash 
ington  they  will  have  to  kill  Western  men  enough  to 
cover  up  the  dome  of  the  Capitol  with  their  dead 
bodies."  At  Mr.  Corcoran's  there  were  twenty-one  per 
sons,  among  whom  were  four  foreign  ministers,  also  Sena 
tor  and  Mrs.  Slidell.  Mr.  Corcoran  introduced  me  to 
Mrs.  Slidell,  who  was  a  French  Creole  of  New  Orleans,  of 
wondrous  beauty  and  grace.  While  I  conversed  with  her 
I  thought  more  of  lutes  and  bowers  than  of  guns  and 
drums  and  camps.  At  Lord  Lyons's  dinner  the  company 
numbered  twenty-two.  At  Baron  Stoeckl's  there  were 
only  eight  guests,  and  I  was  there  without  General  Scott. 
At  Colonel  Freeman's  there  were  twenty  persons. 
At  Senator  Douglas's  dinner,  where  the  guests  were 
numerous,  several  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  were 
present,  and  I  sat  next  Judge  Wayne.  The  judge  re 
ferred,  with  a  considerable  degree  of  regret,  to  his  son 
Henry,  a  West  Pointer,  a  friend  of  mine  and  a  young 
man  of  merit,  who  had  decided  to  trust  his  fortunes  with 
the  seceders.  Senator  Douglas's  dinner  was  followed  by 
a  general  reception  at  which  many  ladies  appeared. 


33O  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

There  and  in  other  assemblages  I  formed  the  acquaint 
ance  of  numerous  charming  women,  young  and  old, 
among  whom  were  Miss  Lane  and  Miss  Buchanan,  nieces 
of  the  President ;  Miss  McAllester,  of  Philadelphia,  who 
was  staying  with  Miss  Lane  at  the  White  House ;  the 
Misses  Magruder,  the  Misses  Slidell,  the  Misses  Lorings, 
Miss  Kinney,  Miss  Campbell,  Miss  Johnson,  daughter  of 
Hon.  Reverdy  Johnson;  Miss  Turnbull,  Miss  Dixon, 
daughter  of  Senator  Dixon ;  Mrs.  Bass,  a  tall,  handsome 
widow  from  Mississippi ;  the  Misses  Carroll,  Miss  Philips, 
and  many  more  from  the  South  and  from  the  North.  I 
found  great  delight  with  the  Southern  damsels,  and  even 
with  some  of  the  matrons,  notwithstanding  the  incandes 
cence  of  their  treason.  Although  I  now  consider  myself 
far  enough  along  in  years  to  be  out  of  danger,  it  is  my 
solemn  opinion  that  beautiful  women  ought  to  be  consid 
ered  as  contraband  of  war,  and  captured  wherever  found, 
and  detained  till  after  the  fight  under  the  guard  of  old 
persons  of  their  own  sex.  Mrs.  Greenough,  who  was  re 
puted  to  be  the  most  persuasive  woman  that  was  ever 
known  in  Washington,  after  expatiating  on  the  injustice 
of  the  North,  tried  to  persuade  me  not  to  take  part  in  the 
war.  Among  her  other  arguments,  she  dwelt  upon  the 
sickliness  of  the  Southern  coasts  in  summer ;  but  she 
showed  her  woman's  weakness  by  prescribing  to  me  reme 
dies  against  the  deadly  miasms.  I  reported  the  tempta 
tions  to  which  I  was  exposed  to  a  patriotic  Northern  lady, 
who,  if  she  lacked  some  of  the  peculiar  accomplishments 
of  Mrs.  G.,  was  more  beautiful,  and  equally  eloquent 
on  this  particular  question.  The  latter  encouraged  me  to 
hasten  to  the  conflict,  and  told  me  that  nothing  but  a 
bullet  could  kill  me.  Although  I  was  never  in  the  least 
danger  of  being  diverted  from  my  purpose,  yet  I  well  re 
member  how  often  I  was  lured  to  the  brink  of  the  preci- 


A   Tour  of  Inspection.  331 

pice,  and  I  am  convinced  that  under  the  slave  regime  few 
men  could  have  boasted  of  their  ability  to  withstand  the 
blandishments  of  Southern  ladies.  It  would  have  been 
idle  to  deny  that  in  society  they  were  the  most  attract 
ive  women  in  the  world.  The  extinction  of  slavery  has 
dimmed  their  brightness. 

Late  in  the  summer  of  1860,  the  General  invited  the 
Kemble  brothers,  Gouverneur  and  William,  to  accompany 
us  on  a  tour  of  inspection  to  the  North.  We  went  as  far 
as  Plattsburg,  where  we  stopped  at  "  Fouquet's."  That 
famous  caterer  did  his  best  to  surfeit  us  with  fish  and 
game  and  other  luxuries.  I  took  a  long  walk  outside  the 
town  and  across  the  fields  with  Mr.  Gouverneur  Kemble, 
who  was  then  seventy-four  years  old,  and  in  good  health, 
saving  his  rigidity.  Coming  to  a  board  fence,  where  there 
was  no  gate,  we  were  obliged  to  climb  it  or  to  make  a 
long  circuit.  As  the  boards  were  parallel  with  the  ground, 
and  six  inches  apart,  I  thought  it  quite  easy  to  get  over, 
but  Mr.  Kemble  found  the  undertaking  next  to  an  im 
possibility,  and  I  was  obliged  to  assist  him.  His  figure 
was  always,  since  I  had  known  him,  bent  forward,  but  he 
was  sound,  and  had  still  in  him  fifteen  years  of  life,  and 
yet  it  was  all  he  could  do  to  get  his  foot  over  that  top 
board. 

On  our  trip  we  delayed  two  days  at  Saratoga  Springs, 
where  we  found  several  prominent  gentlemen  from  New 
Orleans  and  other  parts  of  the  South.  They  all  agreed 
in  sentiment  in  regard  to  the  aggressive  conduct  of  the 
North,  and  in  their  views  it  was  only  requisite  to  accede 
to  all  the  demands  of  the  South,  elect  a  fire-eater  Presi 
dent,  and  be  content.  I  listened  to  all  the  conversations, 
but  learned  nothing  new  and  was  silent. 

On  the  nth  of  October,  1860,  the  Prince  of  Wales  ar 
rived  in  New  York,  and  WSLS  welcomed  by  the  citizens, 


332  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

who  packed  the  streets  from  the  landing  to  the  Fifth 
Avenue  Hotel,  where  he  alighted  after  dark.  The  fol 
lowing  evening  he  attended  the  ball  given  him  at  the 
Academy  of  Music.  I  went  with  the  General,  and  we 
entered  with  the  Prince  and  his  suite.  The  managers  of 
the  fete,  the  most  prominent  and  officious  of  whom  was 
Mr.  Peter  Cooper,  had  selected  a  list  of  dancing  partners 
for  his  Royal  Highness,  which  I  understood  he  refused 
to  go  through  with.  After  dancing  with  a  certain  num 
ber  of  elderly  dames,  he  broke  loose  and  went  among  the 
bevy  of  young  beauties  to  select  for  himself.  In  the 
midst  of  the  gayety  the  temporary  floor  over  the  pit  gave 
way  and  sank  down  with  its  heavy  load  of  low-necked 
dowagers,  glowing  maidens,  grizzled  officials,  and  eager 
beaux,  but  none  of  them  were  bruised.  By  good  luck 
there  were  carpenters  and  plenty  of  lumber  in  the  build 
ing,  and  the  floor  was  quickly  restored,  and  the  entertain 
ment  kept  up  till  nearly  daylight. 

General  Scott  had  received  orders  from  Washington  to 
receive  the  Prince,  and  on  the  i6th  of  October  we  went  up 
to  West  Point  to  join  Colonel  Delafield,  Superintendent, 
who  had  also  been  instructed  to  receive  him  with  all  the 
honors  of  the  post. 

While  at  the  Point,  I  conversed  with  the  Duke  of  New 
castle,  Lord  Saint  Germains,  General  Bruce  and  Lord 
Lyons,  of  the  Prince's  suite.  His  Royal  Highness,  whom 
I  stood  near  for  half  an  hour,  was  then  nineteen  years 
old,  of  light  complexion,  rather  under  the  medium  height, 
well  shaped,  eyes  large  and  color  clear  blue,  nose  promi 
nent,  mouth  ordinary,  chin  slightly  retreating,  forehead 
ordinary,  health  and  constitution  good.  His  general  ap 
pearance  was  that  of  a  polished  young  gentleman  of  good 
abilities.  He  joined  in  the  sports  of  the  young  officers, 
riding,  bowling,  ten  pins,  etc.  In  the  game  they  bowled 


Colonel  Hardee.  333 

for  a  dollar,  and  the  Prince  one  day  won  three  gold  dol 
lars,  one  from  Saxton,  and  one  from  Clitz,  and,  I  think, 
one  from  Palmer.  He  strung  the  gold  dollars  upon  his 
watch-guard,  and  was  very  proud  of  them. 

As  an  acknowledgment  of  the  civilities  paid  to  his 
Royal  Highness,  the  British  Minister,  Lord  Lyons,  ad 
dressed  a  letter  to  the  General,  to  say  the  Prince  felt  con 
cerned  lest  the  General's  attention  to  him  may  have  caused 
the  indisposition  he  complained  of.  The  Prince  was  grat 
ified  at  having  been  able  to  see  so  much  of  the  General, 
and  hoped  he  would  be  able  to  visit  England,  etc. 

After  returning  from  West  Point  to  New  York,  an  in 
cident  occurred  which  showed  the  extent  to  which  sec 
tionalism  was  raging  in  the  army.  I  find  the  account  of 
it  in  my  journal  of  October  23d,  as  follows : 

"  To-day,  Colonel  W.  J.  Hardee,  of  the Regiment 

of  Dragoons,  called  at  the  office  in  reference  to  an  invi- 

o 

tation  from  Governor  Letcher,  of  Virginia,  to  attend 
an  encampment  of  Volunteer  Cavalry  near  Richmond 
next  month.  By  direction  of  General  Scott,  I  had,  the 
day  previous,  enclosed  to  Colonel  Hardee  a  copy  of  the 
Governor's  invitation,  with  a  note  from  myself,  which 
contained  the  following  words :  *  As  you  [Colonel  Har 
dee]  have  been  authorized  to  delay  joining  your  post 
until  the  1st  of  February  next,  you  are,  of  course,  at 
liberty  to  accept,  or  to  decline,  Governor  Letcher's  invi 
tation  to  attend  the  encampment  of  cavalry,  as  you  may 
think  proper." 

As  I  had  addressed  my  note  to  West  Point,  it  had  not 
reached  Colonel  Hardee,  and  when  I  showed  him  the 
copy  in  the  presence  of  the  general,  the  colonel  said 
snappishly,  "  I  am  snubbed  ! "  This  remark  produced 
violent  agitation,  which  partly  subsided  when  Colonel 
Hardee  disclaimed  any  disrespect  towards  the  general 


334  Fifty   Years    Observation. 

Colonel  Hardee  then  referred  to  Major  Anderson  and 
Lieutenant  Sinclair  having  been  ordered  to  Fort  Wood 
to  instruct  a  regiment  of  New  York  volunteers,  and  he 
was  not  satisfied  when  he  was  told  that  matter  originated 
in  Washington.  General  Scott  further  remarked  that  he 
had  not  at  any  time  given  orders  to  officers  to  attend  en 
campments  of  volunteers  and  militia,  though  he  had  en 
couraged  them  to  do  so  when  he  had  been  able. 

Colonel  Hardee  left  the  office  evidently  dissatisfied,  and 
with  the  belief  that  General  Scott  was  biased  in  favor  of 
the  North.  Hardee  was  one  of  those  officers  who 
nourished  in  the  army  the  most  advanced  Southern  ideas. 
He  looked  forward  with  fond  hope  to  the  independence 
of  the  South,  and  when  afterwards  the  fortune  of  war 
began  to  turn  against  her,  his  grief  was  beyond  expres 
sion. 

October  29,  1860. — This  is  the  date  of  a  paper  on  the 
state  and  prospects  of  the  Union,  by  General  Scott,  en 
titled  "  Views"  and  addressed  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  I  give  below  a  synopsis  of  the  contents 
of  the  paper,  to  show  how  ignorant  the  general  really  was 
of  the  fierce  animosities  that  were  raging  at  the  South 
and  in  the  North,  and  for  which  there  was  no  possible 
remedy  but  war.  The  general  was  occupied  eight  or  ten 
days  in  the  composition  of  his  "  Views"  and  every  morn 
ing  he  discussed  them  with,  or  rather  he  harangued  me 
about  them,  as  I  disagreed  with  him  in  all  his  statements 
and  conclusions.  I  was  in  favor  of  Lincoln  for  President, 
and  I  felt  as  confident  that  war  would  soon  come  as  that 
the  sun  would  rise  on  the  morrow. 

In  his  paper  the  general  balances  the  assumed  right  of 
secession  by  an  interior  State  with  the  superior  right  of 
re-establishing  the  continuity  of  territory  afterwards.  In 
the  event  of  the  dissolution  of  the  great  Republic,  he  sup- 


Scott  on  the  Eve  of   War.  335 

poses  there  would  be  formed  out  of  the  fragments  several 
new  confederacies — probably  four.  He  sketches  their 
imaginary  boundaries,  and  names  their  capitals,  reason 
ing  from  natural  lines,  the  laws  of  trade,  contiguity  of 
territory,  and  the  necessities  of  defence.  The  general 
thinks  there  is  an  indifference  to  slave  labor  in  Western 
Virginia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Missouri,  and  that 
they  would  by  moral  force  alone  be  induced  to  coalesce 
with  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  other  free  States.  He 
proves  that  the  right  to  carry  slaves  to  the  Territories  is  a 
barren  right,  and  appeals  to  the  people  of  the  South  to  be 
content  with  things  as  they  are,  rather  than  to  change 
without  reflection.  He  enforces  his  appeals  with  several  apt 
quotations  from  Shakespeare,  Paley,  and  other  authors. 

He  imagines  the  excitement  grows  out  of  the  prospect 
of  Lincoln's  election  to  the  Presidency,  thinks  Lincoln, 
whom  he  is  not  certain  of  having  seen,  will  not  be  aggres 
sive  towards  the  South,  and  avows  his  own  partiality  for 
the  Bell  and  Everett  ticket.  Gives  counsel,  and  says  the 
country  has  a  right  to  expect  moderation  and  firmness  in 
the  Executive  for  the  next  twelve  months,  dwells  upon 
the  benefits  of  moderation,  and  thinks  that  at  the  end  of 
a  year  the  danger  will  have  passed  without  bloodshed  ! ! ! 
Recommends  freedom  of  exports,  and  the  collection  of  all 
duties  to  pay  debts  and  invalid  pensions,  etc.  Describes 
the  absence  and  feebleness  of  the  garrisons  of  Southern 
forts,  and  recommends  that  they  should  be  so  strength 
ened  as  to  prevent  coups  de  main,  and  concludes  by  avow 
ing  his  solicitude  for  the  Union. 

No  man  can  consider  the  views  entertained  by  General 
Scott  in  the  autumn  of  1860,  and  compare  them  with 
actual  subsequent  events,  and  not  be  amazed  at  the  dis 
crepancy.  Although  he  had  lived  nearly  the  whole  time 
since  the  war  of  1812  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  he 


Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

remained  wholly  unconscious  of  the  mighty  revolution 
which  was  going  on  in  the  Northern  sentiment,  and  he 
ascribed  the  first  mutterings  of  the  dreadful  tempest  of 
war  which  was  soon  to  drench  the  land  with  fraternal 
blood  to  the  irritation  caused  by  the  election  of  Mr. 
Lincoln  to  the  Presidency.  What  he  mistook  for  a 
cutaneous  pustule  was  the  plague. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Events  of  1860  and  '61. — State  of  the  Union  and  of  parties  in  the  autumn 
of  1860. — Buchanan's  Cabinet. — Election  of  Lincoln. — Scott's  sugges 
tion  of  names  for  Lincoln's  Cabinet. — Various  social  events  in  Washing 
ton. — General  Cameron. — The  first  demands  from  the  South. — Hayne's 
mission. — Petigrew. — Seward's  speech. — Scott's  views  on  the  situation. — 
Stanton's  appointment  to  office. — First  troops  ordered  to  Washington. — 
Reports  from  various  parts  of  the  country. — Threats  against  Lincoln. — 
Scott's"  depression. 

THE  journal  I  kept  in  the  winter  of  1 860-61  enables 
me  to  trace  the  mad  political  current  down  to  the 
time  when  I  separated  from  my  venerable  chief.  The 
short  notes  made  at  the  time  will  assist  me  to  recall  to 
mind  the  events  that  were  passing,  and  now  that  passion 
has  subsided,  the  reader  will  be  enabled  to  judge  if  my 
own  conduct  was  reprehensible,  or  if  I  was  the  object  of 
injustice. 

To  such  persons  as  are  too  young  to  remember  the 
state  of  feeling  throughout  the  United  Spates  during  the 
autumn  of  1860,  all  attempts  to  convey  an  adequate  im 
pression  of  it  would  be  vain.  A  majority  of  the  South 
erners  desired  to  separate  from  the  North  and  to  set  up 
a  confederacy  of  their  own.  A  majority  of  the  Northern 
people  dreaded  disunion,  and  were  willing  to  concede 
much  to  avoid  it.  There  was,  however,  at  the  North,  a 
stubborn  minority  that  hated  negro  slavery,  and  were 
determined  to  destroy  it  at  whatever  cost.  There  was 
also  a  class  of  reflecting  Northern  men  not  yet  moulded 
into  form  as  a  political  element,  who  had  witnessed  the 
15 


33$  Fifty  V ears'  Observation. 

arrogant  assumptions  of  the  South,  and  the  confidence 
with  which  they  claimed  all  the  chief  offices  and  com 
mands  in  the  Federal  Government,  the  army  and  navy, 
by  right  of  innate  superiority,  and  who  being  impressed 
with  the  consequent  necessary  debasement  of  the  North 
ern  character  from  such  a  state  of  things,  could  see  no 
other  remedy  but  war,  and  war  they  desired.  To  this 
last  class  I  belonged,  and  hence  the  nonchalance  with 
which  I  recorded  my  impressions. 

I  find  the  following  entry  in  my  journal : 

"  October  30,  1860. 

"  In  this  morning's  New  York  Times  it  is  stated  that 
President  Buchanan's  Cabinet  is  a  unit  on  the  subject  of 
allowing  the  States  to  secede  peaceably,  if  they  determine 
to  secede,  and  not  to  interpose  force." 

No  history  of  the  present  age  should  omit  the  names 
of  the  individuals,  or  their  functions,  that  composed  the 
assemblage  whose  resolve  is  heralded  to  the  world  in 
the  above  simple  announcement.  They  were  as  fol 
lows  : 

Lewis  Cass,  of  Michigan,  Secretary  of  State. 

Howell  Cobb,  of  Georgia,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

John  B.  Floyd,  of  Virginia,  Secretary  of  War. 

Isaac  Toucey,  of  Connecticut,  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

Jacob  R.  Thompson,  of  Mississippi,  Secretary  of  the 
Interior. 

Horatio  King,  of  Maine,  Postmaster-General. 

J.  S.  Black,  of  Pennsylvania,  Attorney-General. 

Those  men  were  the  chosen  counsellors  of  the  Chief 
Magistrate  of  this  mighty  nation,  and  when  they  assem 
bled  in  synod  unbenign  to  gloze  upon  the  value  of  the 
Union,  they  concluded  it  was  not  worth  contending  for. 
Their  decision  being  wholly  incompatible  with  reason, 


Buchanan's  Cabinet.  339 

we  must  seek  its  cause  among  the  accidents  to  which 
humanity  is  exposed. 

All  men  are  aware  that  judgment  is  often  the  thrall  of 
ecstacy  or  prejudice,  or  it  may  be  so  obscured  in  the  haze 
of  reverie  as  to  lose  its  choice  between  wisdom  and  folly. 
It  may  be  wholly  suspended  for  a  while,  and  in  the  hiatus 
of  his  thoughts  a  man  may  commit  acts  of  depravity,  or 
allow  opportunities  to  pass  that  will  sadden  his  declining 
years.  All  this  may  occur  to  an  individual  and  occasion 
no  surprise ;  but  we  are  amazed  to  find  that  the  seven 
selected  advisers  of  the  President  were  every  one  of  them 
afflicted  with  a  dreadful  syncope  at  the  same  moment,  or 
else  they  would  have  retained  a  discrimination  between 
the  inestimable  blessings  that  cluster  around  the  Union 
of  these  States  and  the  legion  of  plagues  that  would 
attend  their  rupture.  The  illustrious  De  Tocqueville 
declares  that  in  the  whole  world  there  is  not  so  advan 
tageous  a  residence  for  man  as  the  valley  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  and  yet  he  surveyed  it  in  a  condition  of  barbarism, 
but  in  its  unity,  and  knew  not  half  its  value.  Now  that 
our  boundaries  are  vastly  extended,  and  so  many  new 
sources  of  wealth  and  happiness  disclosed,  the  dullest 
understanding  can  feel  the  madness  of  a  disunion  of  the 
States  and  a  division  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  We  may 
therefore  absolve  the  Cabinet  ministers  of  Mr.  Buchanan 
of  treasonable  intent,  while  we  impute  to  them  a  simul 
taneous  occultation  of  reason. 

I  could  never  admit  the  propriety  of  listening  to  any 
of  the  arguments  of  the  seceders,  since  I  regarded  the 
duty  to  preserve  the  Union  as  an  axiom.  General  Scott 
touched  upon  the  absurdity  of  the  assumed  right  of  seces 
sion,  when  he  referred  to  the  withdrawal  of  an  interior 
State  like  Tennessee  or  Kentucky.  That  absurdity  would 
be  better  shown  by  supposing  the  tier  of  States  which 


34°  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

extends  one  above  another,  from  Mexico  to  the  British 
possessions,  should  set  up  for  themselves  and  inter 
dict  land  commerce  between  the  Pacific  and  Atlantic 
States. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  desirability  of  defining 
more  explicitly  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
the  limits  of  Federal  and  State  jurisdictions.  It  appears 
to  me  that  all  laws  relating  to  money,  saving  the  interest 
on  money,  which  should  be  left  to  free  competition, 
should  be  uniform  throughout  the  whole  country.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  the  laws  of  marriage  and  divorce,  of 
insolvency,  defamation,  and  many  other  things.  But  the 
States  should  be  allowed  to  make  their  own  police  regula 
tions  and  to  frame  such  laws  as  are  requisite  to  meet  the 
exigencies  of  climate,  special  employments,  productions, 
etc.,  etc.  Above  all  things  should  the  citizen  who  is 
charged  with  a  trespass,  or  a  wrong,  the  establishment  of 
which  would  affect  his  character,  be  allowed  a  trial  in  the 
community  where  the  trespass  is  alleged  to  have  been 
committed.  At  present  a  man  who  is  charged  with 
stealing  a  lump  of  ice  in  Alaska,  in  January,  may  be  tried 
at  Fort  Yuma  in  July  by  a  judge  and  jury  who  had  never 
left  Yuma. 

My  lawsuit  in  New  York,  in  which  it  was  required  to 
make  "  a  judge  of  strong  prejudices  "  and  a  very  common 
place  set  of  jurymen  comprehend  the  state  of  things  as 
they  existed  in  California  from  1849  to  l853>  anc*  before 
Alcalde  titles  had  been  settled,  is  a  fitter  comparison  than 
the  ice  case,  although,  perhaps,  less  easily  understood. 

From  my  journal : 

"November  7,  1860. 

"  The  die  is  cast !  Yesterday  the  election  of  President 
took  place,  and  resulted  in  the  choice  of  Abraham  Lincoln 
of  Illinois,  by  an  overwhelming  majority  in  all  the  free 


Lincoln  s  Cabinet.  341 

States  heard  from  except  New  Jersey.     That  little  State 
it  is  thought  may  have  gone  Fusion,  as  they  call  it. 

"  November  g. 

"The  above  is  all  true.  New  Jersey  stands  alone, 
among  all  the  free  States  this  side  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
with  the  South,  and  notwithstanding  the  certainty  of 
Lincoln's  election,  I  feel  the  most  lively  anxiety  to  learn 
avhat  Oregon  and  California  have  done." 

At  the  time  referred  to,  Joe  Lane,  as  he  was  familiarly 
called,  in  Oregon,  and  Dr.  William  M.  Gwin,  of  California, 
both  seceders  of  the  most  refractory  sort,  enjoyed  each  in 
his  own  State  enormous  influence.  When  the  returns 
came  in  it  was  found  that  California  and  Oregon  had  both 
gone  for  Lincoln,  to  the  great  joy  and  surprise  of  every 
lover  of  the  Union. 

"  November  12. 

"To-day  General  Scott  writes  to  the  Hon.  John  J. 
Crittenden,  United  States  Senator  from  Kentucky,  in 
answer  to  a  letter  to  him  from  that  gentleman.  The  two 
letters  relate  to  the  dangers  to  which  this  Union  is  now 
exposed,  and  are  filled  with  patriotic  sentiments.  Mr. 
Crittenden  referred  to  the  subject  of  strengthening  the 
Southern  forts,  which  General  Scott  suggested  in  his 
Views  of  October  29.  In  General  Scott's  reply  to  Mr. 
Crittenden,  he  speaks  of  the  probability  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
will  bring  into  his  Cabinet  some  of  the  following  names, 
viz. :  Crittenden,  Bell,  Rives,  Stephens,  Everett,  and 
Bates.  General  Scott  inclines  to  a  belief  in  the  propriety 
of  Mr.  Lincoln's  publishing  his  programme  of  policy,  so 
as  to  quiet  the  South,  and  seems  to  fear  that  his  silence 
on  this  matter  would  prove  hurtful.  He  thinks,  however, 
that  the  new  President's  Inaugural  will  be  conservative 
and  moderate,"  etc. 

All  the  above  names,  which  General  Scott  suggested  as 


342  Fifty   Years    Observation. 

eligible  to  places  in  the  Cabinet,  except  that  of  Everett, 
were  Southern  men,  and  Bell  and  Everett  were  the  opposi 
tion  candidates  for  President  and  Vice-President.  It 
would  have  been  a  singular  breach  of  custom  if  Mr. 
Lincoln  had  invited  those  two  gentlemen  to  a  place 
among  his  confidential  advisers.  Mr.  Bates  was  made 
Attorney-General,  and  he  was  a  man  of  respectable 
ability,  but  without  strong  convictions,  so  far  as  I  was 
able  to  discover,  in  regard  to  the  great  national  quarrel. 

From  my  journal : 

"  NEW  YORK,  Dec.  3,  1860. 

"To-day  commences  the  last  session  of  the  twenty-sixth 
Congress.  Party  spirit  never  raged  with  so  much 
virulence  as  at  this  time.  Many  political  doctors  and 
quacks  are  busy  with  nostrums  and  bandages  to  strengthen 
and  bind  up  the  Union,  but  the  patient  is  getting  worse 
under  their  treatment." 

Many  people  with  whom  I  conversed  were  so  de 
spondent  at  the  prospect  of  a  rupture  of  the  Union 
that  in  a  letter  to  my  agent  in  San  Francisco,  dated 
December  10,  1860, 1  said  :  "  It  is  now  generally  conceded 
that  this  Union  is  about  to  slide.  Let  us  stand  fast  on 
the  Pacific.  If  we  break  off,  France,  with  the  permission 
of  England,  will  gobble  up  California  in  a  month."  For 
my  own  part  I  was  not  downcast,  but  rather  exultant  at 
the  prospect  that,  whatever  might  be  the  fate  of  the 
Union,  the  North  would  shortly  enter  on  the  experiment 
of  governing  itself. 

The  following  extracts  from  my  journal  are  full  of  in 
terest  : 

'  December  20,  1860. 

"  Arrived  in  Washington,  and  in  the  evening  attended 
a  party  at  Senator  Dixon's.  Senator  Dixon  is  a  Connect 
icut  Republican,  and  is  of  the  sort  of  Northern  men 


Affairs  at  the  end  of  1 860.  343 

whom  the  South  so  easily  frighten,  and  by  whose  tacit 
co-operation  they  have  heretofore  so  rudely  controlled 
the  North.  I  found  occasion  during  the  evening  to  pour 
my  spirit  into  several  intelligent  ears,  and  to  counsel 
firmness  and  unity  of  action  on  the  part  of  the  North. 
Mr.  Dixon  remarked  that  he  did  not  think  there  was 
virtue  enough  left  to  preserve  the  country." 

"WASHINGTON,  December  21,  1860. 

"  Saw  many  people,  and  among  them  Mr.  Clingman,  of 
the  Senate,  and  Mr.  John  Sherman,  of  the  House.  Mr. 
Sherman,  to  whom  I  introduced  myself,  and  with  whom 
I  conversed  an  hour  and  a  half,  is  an  able,  fair,  and  dis 
passionate  exponent  of  Northern  sentiments  and  inter- 
ests.  Speaking  of  the  threats  of  some  of  the  Southerners 
to  make  Washington  the  seat  of  government  of  a  South 
ern  Confederacy,  he  said,  that  '  sooner  than  it  should  be 
so,  a  million  Northern  lives  would  be  sacrificed  in  defend 
ing  it.'  He  remarked,  also,  that  at  the  present  time 
many  respectable  Northern  men  from  Ohio  were  detained 
in  Louisiana,  where  they  had  gone  to  sell  their  produce, 
for  the  reason  that  they  had  voted  for  Lincoln !  Mr. 
Sherman  also  informed  me  that  the  Austrian  Consul  at 
Charleston  had,  in  his  official  capacity,  assured  the  au 
thorities  of  South  Carolina  that  in  case  of  secession 
Austria  would  acknowledge  her  independence.  This  in 
formation  concerning  the  Charleston  Consul  came  through 
the  Austrian  Consul-General  at  New  York,  to  Chevalier 
Hulseman,  the  Austrian  Minister  at  Washington.  Hulse- 
man  immediately  rebuked  the  offending  Consul,  and 
caused  him  to  be  suspended  from  his  functions  for  hav 
ing  acted  without  authority." 

The  Chevalier  Hulseman  was  of  a  sociable  disposition, 
and  well  informed  on  general  subjects.  I  agreed  with 


344  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

him,  as  a  rule,  but  when  he  said  to  me,  '*  There  are  many 
good  cooks  in  Holland,"  I  doubted. 

"  WASHINGTON,  December  23,  1860. 

"  Last  evening  I  was  at  a  dinner  party,  given  by  Mr. 
Speaker  Pennington.  The  company  was  composed  of 
our  host,  his  wife  and  two  daughters,  and  son,  Lieu 
tenant -General  Scott,  Senators  Crittenden,  Trumbull, 
Chandler,  and  Dixon,  Representatives  Winter  Davis  and 
Charles  Francis  Adams,  and  myself.  I  was  the  only  man 
at  the  table  whose  name  is  not  now  prominently  before 
the  public.  All,  with  the  exception  of  General  Scott  and 
Senator  Crittenden,  were  out  and  out  Republicans. 

"  The  conversation  turned  on  the  state  of  the  Union, 
and  all  the  persons  with  whom  I  conversed  gave  little  hope 
of  any  important  concessions  on  the  part  of  the  North. 
Mr.  Dixon  appeared  uneasy  and  uncertain.  Mr.  Adams 
was  calm  and  said  but  little.  Senator  Chandler,  as  usual, 
was  defiant,  and  declared  that  the  slightest  violence  in 
Washington  done  to  any  Republican  would  bring  down 
from  the  Northwest  500,000  armed  men,  and  that  they 
were  fond  of  righting.  General  Scott  was  in  excellent 
spirits,  said  many  things  in  support  of  the  Union,  and 
which  tended  to  harmonize  discordant  elements." 

"WASHINGTON,  December  24,  1860. 

"  The  General  and  I  dined  at  home,  and  had  with  us 
United  States  Senator  John  J.  Crittenden,  of  Ken 
tucky." 

I  find  I  neglected  to  record  the  conversations  at  this 
dinner,  which  were  highly  interesting,  but  I  left  a  space 
in  my  book  for  the  record,  as  the  eloquence  of  Mr.  Crit 
tenden  was  impressive.  I  recall  the  appearance  of  bitter 
ness  and  disgust  with  which  the  Kentucky  senator  re 
ferred  to  certain  members  of  Congress,  who  continually 


Mr.  Crittenden.  345 

harped  upon  what  they  called  "PRINCIPLE/'  when  the 
Union  was  in  danger!  Mr.  Crittenden  thought  slavery 
might  be  gotten  rid  of  gradually,  and  gave  arguments  in 
support  of  the  resolutions  which  he  introduced  on  the 
subject.  General  Scott  agreed  with  him,  and  gave  addi 
tional  reasons  for  his  opinion.  In  such  company,  on  such 
a  subject,  I  could  not  give  free  vent  to  my  sentiments, 
although  I  admired  the  two  illustrious  men  in  whose 
presence  I  found  myself.  My  thoughts  were  turned  on 
Southern  domination,  which  had  so  long  oppressed  me, 
and  against  that  I  desired  to  fight ;  otherwise  I  agreed  in 
many  particulars  with  them  both,  as  my  ideas  of  govern 
ment  had  wholly  ceased  to  be  sentimental.  I  have  no 
clear  perception  of  what  the  advanced  Northern  politi 
cians  mean  by  the  words  principle,  liberty,  freedom,  and 
such  like,  which  appear  to  leap  spontaneously  from  their 
outstretched  throats,  and  to  mean  nothing  good.  I  am 
a  friend  of  principle,  liberty,  and  freedom,  but  the  vaunt 
ing  orators  and  humanitarians  generally  attach  a  meaning 
to  those  words  that  tends  to  evil,  to  impossible  equality, 
to  communism,  which  is  barbarism  without  romance. 

Mr.  Crittenden  was  one  of  the  friends  of  General 
Scott,  with  whom  he  was  always  socially  intimate,  and 
whom  he  greatly  admired.  I  do  not  remember  any  other 
man  whose  opinions  the  General  referred  to  and  quoted 
more  frequently,  and  his  influence  was  acknowledged  by 
all  who  knew  him. 

Mr.  Crittenden  was  a  typical  Kentucky  gentleman,  un 
affected  in  manner,  brave,  honest,  outspoken,  and  abound 
ing  in  common  sense.  He  was  neither  handsome  in  his 
person,  nor  specially  graceful  in  his  movements,  and  yet 
no  man  more  than  he  grew  upon  acquaintance.  His  son 
George  was  a  classmate  and  friend  of  mine  at  West  Point, 
and  for  that  reason  the  father  probably  noticed  me  more 
15* 


346  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

than  he  otherwise  would.  Among  the  distinguished  ora 
tors  and  debaters  in  Congress  to  whom  I  have  at  various 
periods  of  my  life  listened,  Mr.  Crittenden  was,  on  the 
whole,  the  most  generally  attractive.  He  seemed  never 
to  lack  knowledge  of  the  subject  under  discussion,  his 
statement  of  facts  was  always  clear,  his  diction  wonder 
fully  appropriate,  and  his  voice  as  near  perfection  as  could 
be  desired.  When  he  stood  up  in  the  Senate  to  speak, 
it  was  at  once  evident  to  the  beholder  that  he  had  never 
been  frightened  or  cowed.  Such  men  as  have  in  youth 
been  made  afraid  of  too  many  gloomy  dogmas,  or  been 
too  heavily  charged  with  mysterious  accountability  of  a 
dark  and  dismal  character,  can  never  in  after-life  appear 
brave,  unless  they  seem  to  defy  some  person  or  some 
thing.  At  the  North,  fear  or  apprehension  of  undefined 
evil  has  destroyed  the  efficiency  of  vast  numbers  of  the 
noblest  of  men,  and  their  fate  should  demonstrate  the 
value  of  true  courage,  which  was  one  of  the  essential 
elements  of  strength  in  the  character  of  this  illustrious 
citizen. 

"  Mr.  Crittenden  was  an  able  legislator  and  finished 
statesman,  and  from  his  early  manhood  till  the  end  of  his 
life  he  was,  with  short  intervals,  always  in  office.  He 
was  Governor  of  Kentucky,  Representative  and  Senator 
in  Congress,  United  States  Attorney-General,  and  Secre 
tary  of  State.  He  was  faithful  to  every  trust,  and  his 
integrity  was  unquestioned  in  all  his  employments.  His 
associates  recognized  in  him  a  perfect  gentleman,  though 
he  lived  without  ostentation,  and  died  poor." 

"  WASHINGTON,  December  25^. 

"  Dined  at  Captain  Cadwatader  Ringgold's.  At  this 
dinner,  besides  General  Scott,  I  met  Senator  and  Mrs. 
Crittenden,  Mrs.  Bass  from  Mississippi,  Mr.  G.  W.  Hughes 


Dinner  at  Winter  D avis' s.  347 

and  wife,  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Lay,  of  the  Army.  I  was  the 
only  Northern  man  present,  and  was  careful  not  to  ex 
press  any  very  decided  Northern  sentiments,  since  the 
dinner  was  good  and  I  the  guest  of  a  friendly  host.  The 
vein  of  conversation  was  entirely  Southern,  except  when 
General  Scott  related  anecdotes. 

"  The  advance  of  time  demonstrates  and  confirms  what 
I  learned  many  years  ago — that  there  is  an  absolute  in 
compatibility  of  ideas  between  the  North  and  the  South. 
The  two  sections  may  possibly  moderate  their  antip 
athies,  but  I  am  certain  they  will  never,  while  negro 
slavery  lasts,  conquer  their  prejudices  or  assimilate  their 
affections.  We  are  not  a  homogeneous  people,  and  never 
can  be  such  while  slavery  and  freedom  are  associated 
under  the  same  government,  and  neither  section  can 
judge  the  other  fairly.  To  live  together  at  all  each 
should  allow  to  the  other  its  pro  rata  of  honors,  offices 
and  benefits,  and  leave  the  question  of  merit  to  rest  in 
abeyance." 

"  WASHINGTON,  December  26. 

"  Dined  with  the  Honorable  Winter  Davis,  of  the 
House  of  Representatives.  At  his  table  I  met  again  Mr. 
Speaker  Pennington,  Mr.  Gant,  of  Saint  Louis,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Pendleton,  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  Mr. 
Bradley  and  Captain  Humphries,  of  the  Army,  also  two 
naval  officers,  Porter  (now  Admiral),  and  another  whose 
name  I  missed. 

"  For  once  politics  was  not  the  topic  of  conversation. 
We  spoke  of  the  resources  of  the  country  and  such  other 
subjects  as  usually  engage  the  attention  of  men  of  expe 
rience  and  education.  Among  other  matters  we  discussed 
the  Thirty  Years  War  in  Germany,  the  character  of  Gus- 
tavus  Adolphus  of  Sweden,  and  of  Wallenstein,  to  whom 
he  was  opposed.  It  happened  that  I  had  shortly  before 


348  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

finished  a  careful  reading  of  '  Schiller's  History,'  and  was 
thus  enabled  to  shine  like  a  pedant.  I  sat  near  Mr.  Gant, 
and  found  him  a  companionable  gentleman  and  full  of 

information." 

"  WASHINGTON,  Jantiary  3,  1861. 

"  General  Simon  Cameron,  United  States  Senator  from 
Pennsylvania,  dined  with  General  Scott  and  me  to-day. 
Senator  Cameron  told  the  general  that  he  had  been  on  a 
visit  to  Mr.  Lincoln,  from  whom  he  brought  a  message  to 
the  effect  that  he  intended  to  preserve  the  Union,  and 
would  confide  to  General  Scott  the  means  of  saving  it. 
The  same  message  .was  imparted  to  the  general  last 
evening  by  Senator  Baker,  of  Oregon.  Considerable  talk 
ensued  upon  the  subject  of  Mr.  Buchanan,  whom  the 
Pennsylvania  Senator  declared  he  had  made  and  after 
wards  quarrelled  with  him." 

I  first  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Cameron  at  Saint 
Louis,  in  the  autumn  of  1838.  He  was  then  Indian  Com 
missioner,  and  on  his  way  to  the  Winnebago  country. 
At  that  time  his  activity  was  astonishing,  and  all  his 
movements  indicated  a  determination  to  become  rich  and 
famous.  From  1838  nearly  twenty-three  years  elapsed 
before  I  enjoyed  another  opportunity  to  converse  with 
him.  During  that  long  interval  he  had  become  wealthy 
and  famous,  and  so  great  was  his  political  influence  that 
I  frequently  heard  it  remarked  that  he  owned  his  State, 
or,  in  the  expressive  language  of  General  Scott,  that  "  he 
carried  Pennsylvania  in  his  breeches  pocket."  My  sur 
prise  may  be  judged  when,  on  the  renewal  of  my  social 
relations  with  Mr.  Cameron,  in  the  spring  of  1861,  I 
found  him  in  the  full  fruition  of  his  early  hopes  and 
without  a  sign  of  arrogance  in  his  deportment.  On  the 
contrary,  his  manners  and  speech  were  gentle,  and  he 
would  listen  to  the  addresses  of  his  former  associates 


General  Cameron.  349 

with  as  much  patience  as  before.  In  this  respect  I  have 
only  known  one  man  who  fully  resembled  him.  I  omit 
the  name  of  that  man,  for  fear  of  giving  offence  to  some 
of  the  vast  number  of  men  and  women  that  I  have  seen 
emerge  from  meekness  and  poverty  to  wealth  and  power. 
They  all,  but  one,  put  me  in  mind,  in  various  degrees,  of 

a  man  in  California  named  H ,  who  "  struck  a  lead  " 

and  became  a  millionaire  in  a  day.  As  I  had  an  interest 
in  an  adjoining  mine,  the  title  to  which  was  in  dispute,  I 

asked   an   up-country  man   to   consult  Mr.  H ,  who 

probably  knew  all  the  facts.      "  I  consult   Mr.  H ," 

said  he.  "  Why,  I  should  have  to  get  up  to  a  third-story 
window  to  speak  to  him  !  " 

Mr.  Cameron  said  that  at  one  time,  for  several  years, 
his  health  had  been  poor,  and  that  he  derived  benefit 
from  the  daily  moderate  use  of  champagne  wine.  Upon 
that  hint  I  motioned  David  to  uncork  a  bottle  of  that 
propitious  fluid.  Mr.  Cameron  gave  us  much  informa 
tion  about  the  politics  of  Pennsylvania. 

"  WASHINGTON,  January  5. 

"  The  Hon.  Gouverneur  Kemble  arrived  from  New  York 
in  company  with  Governor  Fish  and  Mr.  Aspinwall." 

Mr.  Kemble  joined  our  mess  and  remained  with  us  two 

weeks. 

"  WASHINGTON,  January  6. 

"  Governor  Fish  and  Mr.  Aspinwall  dined  with  us  to 
day.  They  are  both  prominent  citizens  of  New  York 
and  strong  supporters  of  the  Union.  Governor  Fish 
remarked  that  there  were  many  persons  at  the  South 
who  were  secessionists  per  se,  and,  therefore,  it  would  be 
superfluous  to  make  concessions  to  them.  The  govern 
or's  patriotism  is  strongly  tinctured  with  common  sense, 
and  everything  in  him — judgment,  thoughts,  conversa- 


35O  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

tion,  heart  and  character — is  sound  and  well  balanced. 
The  original  framers  of  our  Federal  Constitution  had  in 
view  the  production  of  men  like  Governor  Fish." 

"  WASHINGTON,  January  7. 

"  Dined  this  evening  with  the  Baron  de  Stoeckl,  Prus 
sian  Ambassador,  and  his  elegant  wife.  The  guests  were 
General  Scott,  Mr.  Kemble,  Mr.  W.  H.  Aspinwall,  ex- 
Governor  Fish,  Mr.  Corcoran  and  his  son-in-law,  Eustis 
of  Louisiana,  and  myself.  The  courtesies  of  this  dinner 
were  remarkable.  I  witnessed  no  violent  outbursts  of 
sectionalism  while  at  the  table.  After  dinner  I  fell  into 
conversation  with  Mr.  Eustis,  whose  father  was  a  native 
of  Massachusetts.  The  son,  who  was  born  in  Mississippi, 
being  a  new-hatched  slaveholder,  proclaimed  his  attach 
ment  to  the  South  with  an  enthusiasm  becoming  a 
convert." 

"WASHINGTON,  January  9. 

"  Dined  at  Judge  Campbell's.  At  the  table  were 
many  attractive  young  ladies.  I  enjoyed  myself  greatly ; 
danced  with  Miss  Campbell,  and  conversed  a  long  time 
with  Miss  Philips.  I  alone  was  from  the  North  ;  all  the 
others  were  Southerners — elegant,  fascinating,  beautiful, 
but  traitorous." 

General  Scott  dined  the  same  evening  at  Mr.  Cor- 
coran's.  He  met  at  the  table  Senators  Toombs  and 
Benjamin,  and  several  other  secessionists  whose  names 
he  withheld  from  me,  and  I  sorely  regret  that  I  neglected 
to  search  them  out.  The  general  told  me  he  had  never 
witnessed  such  violent  outbursts  of  passion  as  were  ex 
hibited  by  the  two  Senators  from  Mississippi  and  Georgia. 
"  They  cursed  the  Union  as  it  is,  and  as  it  has  been,  and 
they  cursed  its  founders.  They  abused  the  President 


Mrs.  Slide II.  351 

and  other  high  functionaries.     They  also  abused  Major 
Anderson,  and  behaved  in  their  discourse  like  madmen." 

The  abuse  of  Mr.  Buchanan  by  two  such  enthusiastic 
rebels  tended  to  confirm  my  opinion  that  he  was  not 
always  their  willing  tool. 

"  January  9. 

"  To-day  Colonel  Harvey  Brown  of  the  regular  army  ar 
rived  to  take  command  of  the  companies  that  have  been 
ordered  here  for  the  protection  of  the  Capitol.  I  con 
versed  with  this  devoted  old  soldier  and  staunch  patriot, 
and  we  agreed  that  as  the  North  is  at  this  time  strong 
and  prosperous,  it  is  as  well  that  the  conflict  should 
begin  now  as  at  a  later  date.  We  both  agreed  that  it  was 
all  well  enough  with  the  South  so  long  as  they  could 
command  the  North,  but  now  that  the  power  was  about 
to  pass  from  their  hands  they  were  off." 

{  WASHINGTON,  January  13. 

"  Dined  to-day  at  Mr.  Corcoran's.  In  the  company 
were  General  Scott,  Mr.  Badger,  of  North  Carolina;  Mr. 
Fay,  of  Boston  ;  Mr.  Mosely,  of  Buffalo ;  Mr.  Alexander 
Duncan  and  Mr.  Watts  Sherman,  of  New  York;  also 
Senator  Slid  ell  and  wife,  of  Louisiana.  I  had  been  in 
troduced  to  the  Senator's  wife  before,  and  conversed  with 
her  half  an  hour.  Mrs.  Slidell  has  the  beauty  and  grace 
of  a  high-born  native  of  Paris,  and  she  speaks  English 
with  an  accent.  It  occurred  to  me  that  she  would  have 
appeared  more  spirittielle  if  she  had  spoken  the  language 
of  her  ancestors,  though  I  found  her  broken  English  vast 
ly  engaging.  Nevertheless,  as  I  was  walking  home  from 
the  party,  I  reflected  that  no  blandishments  could  mod 
erate  my  desire  for  war." 

"WASHINGTON,  Jan  uary  14. 

"  The  South    Carolinians  have  sent  Mr.  J.  W.  Hayne 


Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

to  demand  the  surrender  of  Fort  Sumter.  There  is  a 
mighty  exultation  in  the  Charleston  papers  over  the  ex 
pulsion  of  the  '  Star  of  the  West'  from  their  harbor. 

"General  Scott  has  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Peti- 
grew,  of  Charleston.  The  letter  is  filled  with  sentiments 
worthy  of  its  author.  Mr.  Petigrew  does  not  concur  in 
any  of  the  schemes  of  the  South  Carolina  madmen.  He 
thinks  it  will  not  be  possible  to  reclaim  any  of  the  seceded 
States." 

Mr.  Petigrew  was  one  of  the  few  South  Carolinians 
who  was  from  the  beginning  radically  opposed  to  seces 
sion.  He  was  the  acknowledged  head  of  the  bar  in  his 
own  State,  a  man  of  large  observation,  excellent  judg 
ment,  and  the  possessor  of  a  subtle  and  penetrating 
genius.  The  sophistries  of  Mr.  Calhoun  had  no  influence 
with  him,  and  he  clearly  foresaw  the  ruin  which  civil  war 
would  bring  upon  the  South.  While  stationed  at  Fort 
Moultrie  I  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  Mr.  Petigrew  and 
his  family.  His  daughter,  Mrs.  Carson,  inherited  the  pa 
triotic  spirit  of  her  father,  with  much  of  his  genius,  and 
the  hardships  of  penury,  brought  upon  her  by  the  war, 
she  has  sustained  with  heroic  dignity. 

(January  14 — continued.") 

"This  morning,  while  General  Scott  was  writing  the 
last  words  of  an  article  to  be  appended  to  another  paper 
which  he  had  written  in  New  York  under  date  of  October 
29th,  1860,  Governor  Seward  of  the  Senate  entered  his 
office.  In  General  Scott's  *  Views'  it  was  stated  dis 
tinctly  that  no  idea  was  entertained  by  him  of  invading  a 
seceded  State. 

"Governor  Seward,  in  his  speech  in  the  Senate  last  Sat 
urday  (the  1 2th  inst.),  stated  to  the  effect  that  the  Union 
was  not  worth  preserving  at  the  expense  of  civil  war !  " 


Scott's  "Views"  and  Correspondence.  353 

I  have  transferred  the  above  entry  made  in  my  journal 
on  the  fourteenth  day  of  January,  1861,  without  change. 
It  shows  the  state  of  mind  at  that  date  of  two  of  the 
most  prominent  Union  patriots  of  the  country.  They 
both  cherished  the  Union,  but  lacked  resolution  to  fight 
for  it — 

"  Letting  '  I  dare  not'  wait  upon  '  I  would/ 
Like  the  poor  cat  i'  the  adage." 

(January  14 — continued.} 

"  To-day  I  urged  General  Scott  to  order  down  from 
Fort  Vancouver,  Washington  Territory,  to  the  posts  near 
San  Francisco,  two  companies  of  artillery,  and  to  place 
one  company  in  the  fort  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbor.  I 
know  the  danger  of  leaving  a  strongly  armed  fort  without 
any  guard  whatsoever  to  the  mercy  of  such  desperadoes 
as  are  among  the  Federal  officers  in  that  city." 

"  WASHINGTON,  January  15. 

<4  General  Scott  corrected  the  proofs  of  his  '  Views '  for 
the  Intelligencer. 

"  The  general  receives  a  vast  number  of  letters  on  all 
imaginable  subjects.  Some  of  the  writers  propose  to 
raise  regiments.  Some  offer  to  fight  for  him,  as  they 
hear  he  has  had  a  difficulty  with  Senator  Toombs.  Some 
offer  their  own  military  services,  some  ask  for  money,  and 
some  glorify  him.  I  read  them  all,  and  many  I  answer. 
These  letters,  in  various  respects,  constitute  a  better 
study  of  belligerent  and  laudatory  human  nature  than  any 
book  I  ever  read.  Some  of  the  letters  threatened  him 
with  assassination. 

"  I  am  getting  fatigued  with  overwork,  feasting,  and 
gayety.  The  incessant  calls  on  me  during  the  day  allow 
no  time  for  rest,  and  the  numerous  feasts  and  parties  ab 
sorb  my  evenings  and  keep  me  out  late.  The  general 


354  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

sometimes  detains  me  in  conversation  till  after  midnight, 
which,  he  says,  is  his  favorite  time  for  conversation.  Oc 
casionally  he  sends  for  me  after  I  have  retired  to  come 
over  and  listen  to  something  that  interests  him.  At  such 
times  I  generally  find  him  in  bed  with  a  book  in  his  hand, 
which  he  puts  aside  to  talk  with  me,  or  hear  me  talk.  If 
I  remain  silent  too  long  he  snappishly  remarks :  '  Have 
you  nothing  to  say?'  When  I  feel  fatigued  and  non- 
compliant  in  all  he  says,  he  soon  grows  weary  and  places 
his  hand  on  his  forehead,  at  which  signal  I  vanish.  It  is 
not  the  toughness  of  my  constitution  so  much  as  the 
force  of  my  convictions  that  sustains  me  under  such  vari 
ous  pressure  upon  my  nervous  system." 

Willie  Van  Buren,  the  son  of  my  distinguished  friend, 
Dr.  William  H.  Van  Buren,  of  New  York  City,  having 
written  to  request  me  to  obtain  for  him  the  autographs  of 
General  Scott,  Senator  Crittenden,  and  Mr.  Winter  Davis 
of  the  House,  I  wrote  in  reply  a  note  of  which  the  follow 
ing  is  a  copy: 

WASHINGTON,  January  16,  1861. 
MASTER  WILLIAM  VAN  BUREN  : 

We  have  been  informed  by  Colonel  Keyes  that  you  desire  our  auto 
graphs  because  you  think  we  are  devoted  to  the  Union.  The  reason  given 
for  your  request  betokens  a  laudable  sentiment,  and  we  comply  with  it 
cheerfully  for  that  condition,  and  because  we  learn  that  you  are  a  youth  of 
excellent  conduct  and  a  diligent  student,  and  we  remain, 
Very  truly  yours, 

[Signed]         WINFIELD  SCOTT, 

JOHN  J.  CRITTENDEN, 
H.  WINTER  DAVIS. 

Willie  Van  Buren  was  a  youth  of  much  promise.  He 
was  erect,  healthful,  and  bright  in  appearance;  and  so 
amiable  in  disposition  and  engaging  in  his  manners  that 
he  was  a  favorite  with  his  companions  and  the  idol  of  his 


Extracts  from  my  Diary.  355 

parents.  His  untimely  death,  which  occurred  a  few 
months  after  he  received  the  note,  had  a  crushing  effect 
upon  his  father  and  mother.  The  former  built  his  hopes 
upon  his  only  son,  who  he  anticipated  would  worthily 
succeed  him  in  his  profession.  My  son,  Edward  L. 
Keyes,  who  was  of  the  same  age  with  Willie,  and  his  con 
stant  associate,  had  the  rare  good  fortune  to  take  the 
place  in  the  father's  heart,  which  a  cruel  fate  had  made 
vacant,  to  the  fullest  extent  that  nature  permits.  Drs. 
Van  Buren  and  Keyes  during  fifteen  years  were  insepara 
ble  in  duty  and  affection,  till  death  closed  the  magnificent 
career  of  the  elder  partner  on  Easter  day,  1883. 

"  WASHINGTON,  January  18. 

"  In  the  New  York  Evening  Post  of  the  i/th  inst.  is  a 
quotation  from  a  Haytien  paper,  in  which,  after  referring 
to  Mr.  Lincoln's  election,  and  its  effects  upon  the  black 
race,  the  writer  winds  up  with  the  following  sentence: 
*  We  plainly  say  then  that  we  have  greater  faith  in  the 
follies  of  the  South  than  in  the  wisdom  of  the  North.' " 

"  /an  ttary  19. 

"To-day  General  Scott  changed  his  quarters  from 
Wormley's  to  Cruchett's,  at  the  corner  of  Sixth  and  D 
streets.  The  change  was  made  for  convenience,  not  for 
discontent  with  Wormley.  In  the  Sixth  Street  house,  the 
general's  bedroom  is  spacious,  and  adjoins  the  dining- 
room.  I  took  lodgings  in  the  house  of  Mrs.  Harris, 
directly  across  the  way." 

"January  20. 

"  Yesterday  I  wrote  a  letter  to  General  A.  S.  Johnson, 
commanding  the  department  of  the  Pacific,  directing  him 
to  transfer  two  companies  from  Fort  Vancouver,  Wash 
ington  Territory,  and  place  them  in  the  forts  which  defend 
San  Francisco. 


356  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

"To-day  Lieutenant  Duane,  of  the  Engineer  Corps, 
with  the  company  of  sappers  and  miners,  arrived  in 
Washington  from  West  Point.  Lieutenant  Saunders 
arrives  also  from  Pensacola,  to  which  place  he  had  been 
sent  with  despatches  for  Commodore  Armstrong.  He 
was  taken  prisoner  by  the  people  of  Pensacola  before  he 
had  delivered  his  letters,  but  would  not  surrender  them 
except  to  the  commodore,  who  himself  was  a  prisoner. 
The  commodore's  men  had  been  set  at  liberty  on  parol, 
not  to  serve  against  Florida  at  any  future  time  /  The 
lieutenant  was  also  set  at  liberty  upon  his  promise  not  to 
communicate  with  the  forts  near  Pensacola,  and  under 
the  written  safeguard  of  Colonel  William  Chase,  Saunders 
was  allowed  to  depart." 

Colonel  Chase  was  a  graduate  of  the  Military  Academy, 
and  for  many  years  an  officer  of  the  corps  of  engineers. 
He  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  and  married  to  a 
Southern  lady  of  fortune.  The  chivalry  had  subdued 
him  to  their  policy  long  before  the  rebellion,  and  when  the 
war  began  he  joined  the  seceders.  At  first  he  appeared 
to  have  influence  in  their  councils,  which  apparently  de 
clined  suddenly,  and  I  heard  of  him  no  more. 

The  entries  in  my  journal,  which  I  am  reproducing  in 
this  book,  although  they  frequently  refer  to  trifles,  will 
suffice  not  only  to  show  the  state  of  society  at  the  federal 
capital,  but  they  also  exhibit  the  irresolute  conduct  of  the 
Government  towards  the  seceders.  An  excess  of  labor 
and  gayety,  conspiring  with  the  unsatisfactory  policy  of 
Mr.  Buchanan's  administration,  kept  me  in  a  state  of  irri 
tation,  which  may  have  caused  me  for  the  first  time  in  my 
life  to  brave  my  powerful  chief.  The  following  is  an 
exact  account  of  my  conduct  on  the  evening  of  January 
21,  1861,  which  I  wrote  on  the  morning  after  it  occurred  : 


Extracts  from  my  Diary.  357 

"  Captain  Barry  and  Lieutenant  Duane  of  the  Army 
dined  with  us.  While  we  were  at  the  table,  Colonel  Stone 
came  in  and  brought  intelligence  of  the  contemplated 
attack  on  Harper's  Ferry  Armory.  The  news  came 
through  Colonel  Van  Ness,  of  the  pay  department.  In 
relating  it  Colonel  Stone  spoke  of  Captain  Magruder,  of 
the  Army,  who  has  been  drilling  men  in  Maryland,  and  it 
was  thought  probable  that  Magruder  was  disaffected. 
From  what  was  said  to  me  in  the  hall  by  Lieutenant 
Duane  as  he  and  Barry  were  leaving,  and  from  the  report 
of  Colonel  Stone,  I  derided  the  conclusion  that  Magruder 
was  working  with  the  enemies  of  this  Union.  Returning 
to  the  dining-room  under  that  impression,  I  said  with  some 
excitement,  '  General,  you  must,  or  you  ought  to  take 
that  young  man  in  hand/  or  words  to  that  effect.  General 
Scott  thought  that  my  manner  and  words  evinced  a  dis 
position  to  dictate  to  him,  and  he  became  at  once  exces 
sively  angry.  I  was  excited  also,  and  said  I  was  a  patriot, 
and  when  so  many  people  were  treacherous  I  would  not 
measure  my  words  against  traitors.  I  disclaimed  the  idea 
of  dictating  to  my  superior  officer,  but  in  matters  of 
patriotism  I  must  have  my  own  way  of  speaking.  The  al 
tercation  was  hot ;  we  both  stood  up,  and  I  supposed  it 
would  end  my  connection  with  General  Scott  as  a  mem 
ber  of  his  staff.  However,  we  finally  cooled  off,  and  I  re 
tired  to  my  lodgings  without  excitement  or  ill  feeling." 

"  General  Scott  reminded  me  of  my  habit  of  late  of 
speaking  to  him  in  a  dictatorial  manner,  and  that  he  had 
long  had  an  affection  for  me.  I  intend  to  do  my  duty  to 
all  men  and  to  the  country,  but  it  is  not  a  part  of  my  duty 
to  feel  or  to  know  in  this  contingency  fear  for  any  man." 

*'  WASHINGTON,  January  22. 
"To-day  a   Georgian   named   Moulton    came    to  offer 


358  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

General  Scott  the  service  of  his  boats  in  the  cause  of 
the  Union.  He  said  the  men  of  property  in  Georgia 
were  generally  in  favor  of  the  Union,  but  they  were 
overawed  and  kept  down  by  the  Secessionists." 

"  Mr.  Benjamin  Stanton,  Chairman  of  the  House  Com 
mittee  on  Military  Affairs,  came  to  the  office  to  consult 
General  Scott  about  a  bill  to  raise  volunteers  for  local 
defence  of  the  capital,  etc.  He  referred  to  Mr.  Henry 
Winter  Davis,  who  said  that  volunteers  for  the  defence  of 
the  capital  should  be  drawn  from  Maryland.  Mr.  Stanton 
thinks  Virginia  will  secede." 

"  The  United  States  steamer  Brooklyn,  with  Captain 
Vogdes's  company  of  artillery,  sailed  for  Pensacola  to 
day." 

"WASHINGTON,  January  25. 

"  During  many  days  past  rumors  of  the  existence  of  an 
organization  to  seize  the  Capitol  and  the  public  archives 
have  been  more  frequent  than  usual.  I  have  not  the 
shadow  of  a  doubt  that  such  an  organization  does,  in  fact, 
exist.  President  Buchanan  seems  loath  to  order  troops 
here,  because  he  fears  a  display  of  troops  would  cause 
irritation  !  This  temporization  may  yet  be  fatal  to  the 
Union." 

The  pressure  upon  the  President  at  the  time  referred 
to  above  appeared  to  distress  him  sorely.  The  organizers 
of  the  rebellion  claimed  to  have  promoted  him  to  the 
office  he  held,  and  they  were  not  satisfied  with  anything 
less  than  an  abject  submission  on  his  part  to  their  dicta 
tion.  He  had  already  conceded  enough  to  destroy  all 
power  of  resistance.  One  day  he  came  into  General 
Scott's  private  office  while  I  was  present,  and,  dropping 
heavily  into  a  chair,  he  exclaimed  :  "  The  office  of  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States  is  not  fit  for  a  gentleman  to 


General  Lyon.  359 

hold !"  Unfortunately  the  general  was  at  the  moment 
dictating  an  order  that  required  instant  attention,  and  I 
left  his  office  and  heard  no  more  of  the  object  of  Mr. 
Buchanan's  visit  from  either  of  the  persons  concerned. 

"  The  rumors  of  schemes  and  plans  to  seize  the  Capitol 
continue  to  arrive  from  all  quarters.  Colonel  Titus,  of 
Kansas  notoriety,  is  here,  and  in  communication  with  the 
secessionists.  It  is  rumored  that  the  Mayor  of  the  city 
of  Washington  is  in  communication  and  in  accord  with 
them  also." 

' '  WASHINGTON,  Jamiary  29. 

"Adjutant-General  Thomas  writes  to  Colonel  Scott 
directing  him  to  have  a  company  organized  from  the  best 
instructed  recruits  and  in  readiness  to  march  at  a  mo 
ment's  notice,  with  two,  or  preferably  three,  officers. 
Colonel  Thomas  also  directs  that  Captain  Elzy's  com 
pany  shall  be  filled  up  immediately  and  ordered  to 
Washington. 

"  Orders  are  issued  to-day  for  Captain  E.  Lyon  with 
his  company  to  proceed  and  garrison  the  Saint  Louis 
Arsenal.  This  order  was  issued  upon  the  earnest  solici 
tation  of  Mr.  Montgomery  Blair,  who  recommended  Lyon 
highly." 

Lyon  was  a  man  whose  appearance  made  a  false  report 
of  his  qualities.  He  was  plain  in  person,  vand  his  counte 
nance  was  not  expressive.  Nevertheless  he  possessed  de 
cided  ability,  and  his  temperament  was  of  the  most 
ardent.  A  native  of  Connecticut,  he  avowed  his  Northern 
sentiments  in  all  situations  with  a  fearlessness  which  had 
few  examples  in  the  army  under  the  old  regime.  As  a 
consequence,  he  was  held  in  disfavor  by  the  ruling  func 
tionaries,  and  his  popularity  among  his  brother-officers 
never  foreshadov/ed  his  future  exploits.  He  exemplified 


360  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

his  valor  on  the  field,  where  he  fell  fighting  for  the  Union, 
and  thus  secured  to  his  memory  such  posthumous  re 
nown  as  men  like  him  can  hope  only  to  inherit  from 
death. 

4 '  WASHINGTON,  January  29. 

"  To-day  General  Scott  wrote  to  Governor  Hicks  of 
Maryland  to  say  he  had  endeavored  to  prevail  on  the 
President  to  order  ten  or  twelve  companies  of  Maryland 
volunteers  to  defend  the  Capitol.  With  them,  and  say 
seven  companies  of  regulars  and  200  marines,  he  thinks 
he  will  be  able  to  guard  the  Capitol  against  any  violation 
of  the  peace." 

I  do  not  think  anything  was  done  in  compliance  with 
the  above  suggestion  of  General  Scott. 

"  WASHINGTON,  January  29. 

"  Was  introduced  to-day  to  General  Mather,  Adjutant- 
General  of  the  State  of  Illinois.  I  conversed  with  him 
upon  the  miserable  condition  of  the  Northern  States  to 
resist  and  overcome  the  rebellion  of  the  South.  Illinois 
is,  according  to  General  Mather's  account,  almost  without 
arms,  and  up  to  1856  no  record  appears  to  have  been 
kept  of  the  arms  distributed  to  that  State  by  the  general 
Government. 

"  In  St.  Louis  he  says  the  arsenal  is  in  the  greatest 
danger.  The  Governor  (Jackson)  has  placed  all  the  arms 
received  from  the  general  Government  in  the  hands  of 
men  who,  like  himself,  are  violent  seceders. 

"  I  spoke  with  General  Mather  of  the  necessary  qualifi 
cations  of  a  Secretary  of  War  for  the  new  administration. 
General  Mather  told  me  that  Mr.  Lincoln  desired  the 
sense  of  the  officers  of  the  Army  as  to  whom  he  should 
place  in  the  War  Office.  I  replied  that  none  but  a  dis 
creet  Northern  man  who  had  firmness  and  perseverance 


On  the  Eve  of  the  War.  36* 

would  answer.  That  all  military  authority  was  now  in 
the  hands  of  the  South  as  fully  as  in  the  civil  depart 
ments,  and  that  a  man  capable  of  reversing  that  order  of 
things  was  required.  The  North  must  have  power  and 
patronage  in  the  full  proportion  of  its  numbers,  and  noth 
ing  short  of  that  would  answer. 

"  Letters  threatening  General  Scott's  life  are  received 
from  Mississippi  to-day. 

"  Prince  John  Magruder's  battery  arrives  in  Baltimore 
to-day.  The  subject  of  ordering  him  and  his  company  to 
Washington  was  mooted.  To  intrust  Prince  John  Magru 
der  with  the  safety  of  the  Capitol  would  have  been  like 
placing  a  wolf  to  guard  the  sheep-fold.  Reports  are  cur 
rent  in  this  city  of  conspiracies  to  prevent  the  inaugura 
tion  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  It  is  just  possible  that  no  attempt 
on  the  Capitol  will  be  made.  Rumors  enough  have  come 
in  to  put  men  in  office  on  their  guard.  All  neglects, 
therefore,  to  protect  the  public  archives  are  treasonable 
crimes.  I  feel  depressed  at  the  apparent  apathy  of  the 
President,  whose  conduct  is  not  such  as  Northern  men 
have  a  right  to  demand  from  the  Executive  of  the  United 
States. 

"  General  Scott  is  summoned  to  appear  before  a  Con 
gressional  Committee  of  five,  which  is  appointed  to  inves 
tigate  the  conspiracy  to  seize  the  Capitol. 

"  It  has  this  day  been  decided  to  call  all  the  United 
States  Artillery  out  of  Texas. 

"  The  general  instructs  me  to  write  to  Colonel  Duryee 
of  New  York  to  describe  his  epaulettes,  and  to  tell  the 
Colonel  of  the  perils  of  the  Capitol." 

"  WASHINGTON,  January  31. 

"  Judge  Parrott  of  Cold  Springs  was  at  the  office  to 
day  ;  also  a  committee,  of  which  Messrs.  Peter  Cooper 
16 


362  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

and  Royal  Phelps  of  New  York  are  members.  These 
men  will  endeavor  to  compromise  our  national  difficul 
ties. 

"  Last  night  I  attended  an  elegant  dinner  party  at  Mr. 
Vinton's.  Among  the  guests  were  General  Scott,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Charles  Francis  Adams,  of  Massachusetts,  M. 
Hulseman,  the  Austrian  Minister,  Baron  Austen  Saken, 
of  Prussia,  also  the  Belgian  Minister,  Mr.  Moseley,  and 
others.  Mr.  Vinton's  daughter,  now  Mrs.  Dahlgren, 
did  the  honors  with  much  taste  and  spirit.  After  the 
dinner  I  attended  a  party  at  Judge  Campbell's.  There  I 
met  many  remarkable  young  ladies,  as  usual  at  the  Camp 
bell's  and  elsewhere.  The  most  conspicuous  for  beauty, 
grace,  and  treason  were  the  two  Misses  Slidell,  the  two 
Misses  Magrucler,  Miss  Philips,  and  the  daughter  of  our 
host.  The  sectional  rancor  of  these  damsels  was  admin 
istered  to  me,  tempered  with  soothing  conditions.  They 
promised  that  in  case  I  should  be  wounded  and  captured 
they  would  bring  me  comforts  in  my  prison.  They  even 
went  so  far  as  to  assure  me  that,  after  the  war  was  over 
and  the  Confederacy  established,  they  would  invite  me 
to  their  houses.  Some  of  the  matured  Southern  dames 
and  dowagers  appeared  to  hate  the  portion  of  earth 
where  I  was  born,  unconditionally ;  consequently  I  do 
not  trouble  myself  to  record  their  names,  nor  to  remem 
ber  what  they  said.  But  of  the  others  whose  charming 
condescension  enlivened  me,  some  I  know  to  be  pros 
perous,  and  I  trust  they  all  are." 

"  WASHINGTON,  February  i. 

"The  rumors  of  perils  to  the  capital  thicken.  Mr. 
Thomas  Corwin  visited  the  general  and  remained  alone 
with  him  in  consultation  a  long  time.  I  know  not  the 
subject  of  their  discussion,  further  than  that  a  letter  to 
the  general  from  New  York,  concerning  the  plans  of  the 


The  Eve  of  the  War.  363 

rebels,  made  allusion  to  Mr.  Corwin,  whose  name  the 
general  was  requested  not  to  divulge. 

"  Mr.  Winthrop,  of  Massachusetts,  came  to  the  office, 
and  I  was  introduced  to  him  for  the  first  time.  Colonel 
E.  V.  Sumner,  of  the  Army,  also  called,  and  I  began  my 
acquaintance  with  that  good  old  soldier.  Both  those 
gentlemen  said  they  had  heard  much  of  me  as  a  North 
ern  man. 

"  Mr.  W.  Swan  writes  from  Nashville,  Tennessee,  under 
date  of  January  20,  that  the  rebels  will  prevent  the  in 
auguration  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  The  writer  thinks  a  large 
force  is  necessary  in  Washington." 

"  WASHINGTON,  February  2. 

"Last  night  I  attended  a  brilliant  party  at  the  house 
of  the  Hon.  Reverdy  Johnson.  A  glance  at  the  assem 
blage  showed  that  the  majority  of  the  guests  were  South 
ern.  There  were  among  them,  however,  a  considerable 
number  of  persons  from  the  North.  I  conversed  with 
Mrs.  C.  F.  Adams,  Mrs.  Douglas,  Mrs.  Wayne,  Mrs. 
Dixon,  and  many  others. 

"  It  is  said  that  the  rebels  are  arriving  in  squads  and 
taking  up  their  abode  in  and  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Washington,  so  as  to  be  able  to  assemble  in  the  city  in 
vast  numbers  as  soon  as  the  signal  is  given. 

"  While  the  rebels  are  organizing  and  arming,  the 
people  of  the  North,  with  their  customed  fatuity  in 
matters  of  command  and  government,  are  moralizing. 

"  Last  night  the  West  Point  Battery  of  Artillery 
arrived  in  Washington.  This  morning  as  I  saw  it  passing 
along  Pennsylvania  Avenue  I  felt  a  glow  of  satisfaction 
that  I  had  not  experienced  before  in  many  days." 

"WASHINGTON,  February  7. 

"  Captain  Elzy,  of  the  Second  Regiment  of  U.  S. 
Artillery,  who  surrendered  the  Augusta  Arsenal  to  the 


Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

Georgians,  arrived  in  Washington  with  his  company  this 
morning. 

"  Wrote  long  letter  yesterday  to  W.  A.  Burleigh,  Esq.*, 
of  Harrisburg,  Penn.,  giving  him  advice  for  the  organ 
ization,  arming  and  equipping  of  70,000  men,  the  ex 
penses,  etc. 

"Cost  of  rifled  musket,  complete $13-93 

Cost  of  equipments  for  do 4.92 

Cost  of  rifle,  complete 17-43 

•  Cost  of  accoutrements  for,  complete. . .       4.52 

"Last  night  a  telegram  from  Little  Rock,  Arkansas, 
sent  by  Captain  Totten,  Second  Artillery,  announced 
that  a  lawless  assemblage  threatened  to  capture  the 
arsenal." 

"WASHINGTON,  February  10. 

"  Yesterday  Mr.  William  H.  Aspinwall  dined  with  me, 
and  ex-Governor  Robinson,  of  Virginia,  dined  with  Gen 
eral  Scott.  The  four  constituted  an  agreeable  party. 
The  conversation  was  general  on  various  subjects." 

"WASHINGTON,  Febrtiary  n 

"  Last  night  I  attended  a  large  dinner  party  given  by 
Surgeon-General  Lawson,  of  the  Army.  About  thirty 
persons  were  present,  and  I  observed  that  when  all  the 
seats  at  the  table  were  filled  five  gentlemen  remained 
standing.  After  a  delay  of  about  half  an  hour,  a  small 
table  was  improvised,  and  the  work  of  eating  and  drink 
ing  commenced." 

"  WASHINGTON,  February  13. 

"The  counting  of  the  votes  for  President  passed 
quietly,  and  many  think  the  precautionary  measures 
were  superfluous. 

"  Dined  at  Mr.  H.  Winter  Davis's,  in  I  Street.  It  was 
a  social  party  with  ladies,  and  uncommonly  agreeable. 


Extracts  from  my  Diary.  365 

General  Scott,  who  had  dined  elsewhere,  called  for  me, 
and  carried  me  home  at  ten  o'clock  P.M." 

"WASHINGTON,  February  15. 

"  Attended  a  party  last  night,  given  by  Mrs.  Charles 
Francis  Adams.  I  was  introduced  to  Mrs.  Lawrence 
(nte  Chapman),  of  Boston,  and  found  her  agreeable.  She 
is  a  beautiful  woman,  with  elegant  person  and  manners. 
I  was  also  introduced  to  Miss  Crowninshield,  who  is  to 
marry  young  Mr.  Adams." 

"WASHINGTON,  February  17. 

"  Attended  party  last  night  at  Captain  Manydier's. 
Found  several  beautiful  young  ladies  there,  and  among 
them  some  were  musical.  The  majority  were  seces 
sionists." 

"  February -&• 

11  During  the  last  two  days  I  have  been  despondent 
about  the  Union.  Factions  are  springing  up  in  the  ranks 
of  the  Republicans.  At  the  same  time  the  Rebels,  who 
are  in  session,  at  Charleston  and  Montgomery,  are  as  au 
dacious  in  their  efforts  to  overthrow  the  Government  and 
set  up  a  Southern  Confederacy  as  ever.  Our  Northern 
people  are  so  much  accustomed  to  private  judgment  in  all 
matters  that  they  will  not  serve  under  a  leader.  In  this 
respect  they  resemble  the  Poles  of  former  days.  I  feel 
as  old  John  Sobieski  felt  when  the  insane  division  of  his 
countrymen  led  him  to  foretell  the  downfall  of  Poland. 

"  Last  night  General  Scott  appeared  depressed  also. 
He  analyzed  the  difficulties,  and  called  on  me  for  specu 
lations  as  to  the  course  Mr.  Lincoln  would  probably 
pursue.  I  did  speculate  glibly,  without  giving  any  special 
opinion  as  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  course,  but  I  showered  re 
proaches  upon  the  North  for  its  supineness  and  upon  the 
South  for  its  violence." 


Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

"  WASHINGTON,  February  21. 

"Captain  Meigs  has  arrived  here  from  Fort  Jefferson, 
Tortugas,  and  came  to  the  office  this  morning  to  report  to 
General  Scott." 

"February  22. 

"  Orders  were  given  yesterday  for  a  grand  review  of  all 
the  troops  in  Washington  to-day,  but  the  orders  were 
countermanded  this  morning  by  the  President.  Mr.  Sec 
retary  Holt  wrote  the  order  of  countermand,  which  was 
delivered  to  General  Scott  while  he  was  at  breakfast.  I 
ran  to  circulate  it  with  all  haste,  but  at  one  o'clock  P.  M. 
Mr.  Holt  came  to  the  general's  office  to  request  him  to 
have  the  review.  The  general  told  him  that  it  was  not 
practicable,  as  all  the  troops  were  dispersed,  and  it  would 
be  impossible  to  reassemble  them  before  night.  This 
circumstance  shows  the  supervision  to  which  Mr.  Bu 
chanan's  minutest  actions  were  subjected.  It  should  serve 
as  a  warning  to  all  succeeding  Chief  Magistrates  of  this 
mighty  nation,  that  when  they  have  accepted  its  guar 
dianship  they  are  bound  to  repel  the  officiousness  of  all 
men  that  speak  or  move  to  destroy  or  disintegrate  it." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Major  Anderson  and  Forts  Moultrie  and  Sumter. — Description  of  Ander 
son. — Anecdotes. — Anderson  ordered  to  relieve  Gardner. — His  vigilance. 
— His  masterly  movement  from  Moultrie  to  Sumter. — The  question  of 
reinforcement. — Expedition  of  the  "Star  of  the  West." — She  is  fired 
upon. — First  shots  from  Sumter. — Beginning  of  civil  war. 

rj  iHE  agitations  preceding  our  civil  war  were  more  vio- 
-*-  lent  in  the  State  of  South  Carolina  than  in  any  other 
portion  of  the  country,  and  the  defences  of  the  harbor  of 
Charleston,  especially  Forts  Moultrie  and  Sumter,  be 
came  a  subject  of  lively  interest. 

Before  quoting  from  my  journal  what  I  wrote  in  refer 
ence  to  the  change  of  commanders  in  Charleston  harbor, 
which  was  made  in  the  month  of  November,  1860,  I  will 
sketch  the  character  of  Major  Anderson,  who  was  made 
famous  by  that  change.  We  belonged  to  the  same  regi 
ment  of  artillery,  and  served  together  in  General  Scott's 
personal  staff  about  four  years. 

Robert  Anderson  was  born  in  Kentucky.  Both  his 
parents  were,  I  think,  natives  of  Virginia,  and  descended 
from  good  families.  I  did  not  become  acquainted  with 
him  till  he  had  been  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  in  the  army, 
and  I  had  been  commissioned  about  half  as  long  a  time. 
Of  all  my  acquaintances  among  men,  Anderson  had  the 
fewest  vices  of  any  one  of  them.  In  fact,  I  doubt  if  he 
had  any  quality  which  the  world  ordinarily  denominates  a 
vice.  Certainly  he  had  none  which  are  embraced  under 
the  sweeping  phrase,  "Wine,  women,  and  play,"  and 


368  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

which,  according  to  Gil  Bias,  are  those  that  usually  ruin 
men.  In  all  things  he  was  rigorously  temperate  and 
moderate,  and  he  was  as  honest  and  conscientious  as  it  is 
possible  for  a  man  to  be.  He  was  a  pattern  of  order  and 
method,  and  worked  out  his  plans  slowly.  He  always 
had  a  reason  for  what  he  did,  and  generally  he  pro 
claimed  his  reasons,  and  his  frankness  sometimes  rubbed 
me  centre  poll.  This  was  accounted  for  by  the  strong  di 
vergence  of  temperament  between  him  and  me.  His  ar 
guments  seldom  modified  my  convictions,  and  I  would 
often  run  after  sports  and  feasts,  while  he  remained  plod 
ding  in  the  office.  His  minute  punctuality  in  all  the 
duties,  habits,  and  relations  of  life  sometimes  annoyed 
me,  but  did  not  diminish  my  respect  for  him,  since  I  felt 
certain  his  decisions  were  never  intended  to  be  unjust. 
Generally,  while  we  served  together  in  the  staff,  I  was  the 
only  Northern  man  attached  to  it.  Our  chief,  Pegram, 
and  Shaw  were  all  Southerners.  Pegram  and  I  were  as 
much  in  accord  as  though  we  had  been  rocked  together 
in  the  same  cradle,  and  Shaw,  who  was  a  Tennessean  and 
a  volunteer,  and  I  were  seemingly  more  fond  of  one  an 
other  because  we  were  born  so  far  apart. 

In  person  Anderson  was  well-built,  and  a  trifle  less 
than  five  feet  eight  inches  tall.  His  shoulders  were  slop 
ing,  and  the  tailor  found  it  easy  to  fit  him  with  a  coat. 
His  face  was  rather  long,  his  forehead  high  and  narrow, 
and  the  expression  of  his  hazel  eyes  was  such  that  they 
could  always  be  seen  when  his  face  was  in  sight.  His 
hair  was  dark  and  straight,  and  was  cropped  close,  and 
his  beard  clean  shaved.  He  was  popular  among  citizens, 
to  whom  his  salutations  were  cordial,  and  with  whom  he 
maintained  extensive  friendly  relations, 

The  foregoing  description  does  not  indicate  a  poetical 
temperament,  which  was  not  one  of  the  endowments  of 


Anecdotes  of  Major  Anderson.     *  369 

\ 

Major  Anderson,  though  he  occasionally  dabbled  in  verse. 

A  curious  incident  occurred  m  Augusta,  Maine,  while 
we  were  there  to  settle  the  northeastern  boundary.  The 
staff  was  then  quite  brilliant,  as  it  was  composed  of  An 
derson,  Joe  Johnson,  since  the  distinguished  Confederate 
commander ;  George  Talcott,  who  was  one  of  the  hand 
somest  men  in  the  army;  William  Palmer,  an  accom 
plished  member  of  the  engineer  corps,  and  myself. 
United  States  Senator  Williams  and  his  wife  lived  in  Au 
gusta,  and  we  had  met  them  in  Washington,  where  Mrs. 
Williams  was  known  for  her  great  beauty  and  accom 
plishments.  One  day  Anderson,  Talcott,  and  I  started 
out  to  call  on  Mrs.  Williams,  who  lived  half  a  mile  from 
our  hotel.  On  the  way  to  her  house  Anderson  and  Tal 
cott  occupied  themselves  in  saying  over  a  stanza  of 
poetry  which  one  of  them  had  discovered,  and  which  I 
had  never  seen.  They  finally  satisfied  themselves  they 
had  the  poetry  correct,  and  they  commented  on  its 
beauty  without  referring  to  me,  but  I  had  full  possession 
of  it  before  we  reached  the  door.  We  were  cordially  re 
ceived  by  Mrs.  Williams,  who  had  two  agreeable  young 
ladies  with  her.  The  conversation  was  pleasant  and  soon 
became  general  upon  a  fitting  subject,  when  I  assumed 
an  air  of  suave  composure  and  discharged  the  stanza 
upon  the  waked  attention  of  the  whole  six !  I  studied 
the  proper  emphasis  of  every  syllable,  and  in  my  delivery 
I  vwafted  my  eyes  from  our  hostess  to  my  companions, 
upoB  whose  faces  amazement  sat.  They  said  nothing, 
but  the  ladies  admired  the  poetry  and  asked  where  I 
found  itu  I  told  them  I  had  picked  it  up  in  my  travels, 
and  was  glad  it  pleased  them.  After  coming  out  Ander- 
.son  and  Talcott  assailed  me  with  reproaches  for  my  auda 
cious  the&  -with  stich  violence  that  I  apprehended  a  fight 
or  a  foot  r&c.e,,  <t>Bt  1  escaped  both,  and  when  I  related  the 


Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

incident  to  the  general  and  the  other  members  of  the 
staff  they  made  merry  over  it  for  several  days. 

Major  Anderson  was  so  little  aware  of  his  Southern 
partialities  that  he  frequently  offended  me  without  know 
ing  it.  Almost  invariably,  when  a  Northern  officer  was 
named  for  any  kind  of  distinction,  he  would  shake  his 
head  and  make  a  disparaging  remark.  At  the  same  time 
his  moderation  and  candid  manner  would  add  to  my  dis 
sent  and  irritate  me  beyond  expression.  The  effect  of 
that  irritation  was  probably  operating  upon  me  when  I 
made  the  following  entry  in  my  journal : 

"NEW  YORK,  October  15,  1860. 

"To-day  Major  Robert  Anderson  came  to  General 
Scott's  office.  He  has  been  to  Washington,  and  is  to  be 
ordered  to  Charleston,  S.  C.,  to  relieve  Colonel  Gardner, 
who  is,  in  the  same  order,  instructed  to  proceed  forthwith 
to  Fort  Brown,  Texas.  The  Secretary  of  War  directed 
Major  Anderson  to  report  to  General  Scott  for  instruc 
tions.  The  general  gives  the  Secretary's  order  as  his  in 
structions,  and  I  see  he  will  not  venture  anything  more 
specific.  General  Scott,  however,  suggested  to  Major 
Anderson  the  propriety  of  examining  into  the  state  of 
things  in  Charleston  Harbor,  and  then  to  make  a  report. 

"  I  can  say,  if  hatred  and  contempt  for  the  people  of 
the  North  and  East,  and  especially  the  latter,  and  a 
boundless  partiality  for  the  South,  are  qualifications  for  a 
successor  in  command  to  Colonel  Gardner,  few  better 
than  Major  Anderson  can  be  found  among  my  acquaint 
ances  in  the  army.  As  to  Colonel  John  L.  Gardner  of 
Massachusetts,  if  he  has  been  avowing  secession  senti 
ments,  as  it  is  reported,  he  is  a  doughface,  and  deserves 
neither  compassion  nor  pity." 

Major  Anderson  proceeded  without  delay  to  Charles- 


Major  Anderson.  371 

ton,  relieved  Colonel  Gardner,  and  took  quarters  at  Fort 
Moultrie,  Sullivan's  Island.  There  he  found  a  small 
garrison  of  about  sixty  regular  soldiers  and  seven  officers, 
among  whom  were  Captain  Abner  Doubleday  and  Sur 
geon  Crawford,  two  men  of  pronounced  Northern  cast  of 
mind,  strong  Union  sentiments,  and  the  former  decidedly 
incongruous  in  disposition  with  his  commanding  officer. 

Anderson  from  the  first  seems  to  have  been  active  and 
vigilant,  and  did  all  in  his  power  to  strengthen  his  posi 
tion,  which  was  exposed  nearly  all  around  to  attacks  from 
land  batteries.  It  soon  became  evident  that  Fort  Moul 
trie  was  untenable,  and  the  major,  with  masterly  secrecy, 
prepared  to  abandon  it.  He  executed  his  purpose  on  the 
night  of  December  26,  1860,  by  an  exploit  which  of  itself 
was  brilliant,  and  which  made  him  the  subject  of  conver 
sation  all  over  the  continent.  I  record  my  impressions  of 
it  in  my  journal  as  follows  : 

"  WASHINGTON,  December  27,  1880. 

"  To-day  the  news  from  Charleston  is  that  Major  An 
derson,  commanding  Fort  Moultrie,  abandoned  that  post 
last  night  and  repaired  with  all  his  force,  except  four 
soldiers,  to  Fort  Sumter,  which  is  one  mile  and  thirty 
yards  from  Fort  Moultrie,  and  across  the  ships'  channel. 
He  had  spiked  all  the  guns  and  burned  the  gun-carriages 
before  leaving. 

"  Fort  Sumter  is  built  on  an  irregular  pentagon,  in  the 
bay,  of  which  the  longest  side  is  between  three  hundred 
and  four  hundred  yards.  The  cisterns  in  that  fort  are  of 
the  capacity  of  about  3,500  gallons,  and  with  provisions, 
arms,  and  ammunition  in  abundance,  he  can  hold  out 
a  considerable  time  against  the  strength  of  South 
Carolina. 

"  I  regard  the  movement  of  Anderson  as  one  of  the 
greatest  merit.  It  brings  the  question  of  secession  to  a 


372  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

focus.  If  the  commissioners  from  South  Carolina,  Messrs. 
Orr,  Adams  and  Barnwell,  demand  the  surrender  of  the 
forts,  the  question  may  be  settled  at  once,  as  to  whether 
the  government  of  Mr.  Buchanan  is  in  league  with  the 
secessionists  or  not." 

At  the  time  I  wrote  the  above  I  was  not  aware  that  a 
portion  of  the  structure  of  Fort  Sumter  was  inflammable, 
as  in  fact  it  was  to  a  considerable  extent,  nor  was  I  aware 
that  the  supply  of  rations  was  quite  small. 

The  subject  of  reinforcing  Major  Anderson  became  at 
once  a  source  of  immense  confusion.  The  majority  of 
the  Cabinet  was  unquestionably  opposed  to  it,  but  I 
infer  that  Mr.  Buchanan  was  not  as  backward  in  the 
matter  as  many  supposed,  from  the  following  record  in 
my  journal  which  I  made  at  the  time : 

"  January  I,  1861. 

"On  the  3 ist  ultimo,  the  Secretary  of  War,  John  B. 
Floyd,  resigned  his  portfolio  in  a  letter  glorifying  himself 
and  insulting  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

"  Mr.  Holt,  of  Kentucky,  Postmaster-General,  is  to  do 
the  duty  of  Secretary  of  War,  ad  interim.  Mr.  Holt  and 
General  Scott  will  act  together  in  harmony,  and  Major 
Anderson  will  be  supported  in  Fort  Sumter,  and  efforts 
will  be  made  to  prevent  the  forts  falling  into  the  hands 
of  the  seceders.  General  Scott  has  continued  to  appeal 
without  ceasing  to  the  President  to  protect  the  public 
property  of  the  Union.*' 

"January  8. 

"  Some  days  ago  secret  orders  were  given  to  reinforce 
Major  Anderson  from  the  recruits  at  Governor's  Island. 
Colonel  Thomas  went  to  New  York  to  execute  the  order. 
He  was  so  cautious  that  two  hundred  recruits  were  put 
on  board  the  '  Star  of  the  West '  by  means  of  a  steam 


The  "  Star  of  the  West "  Fired  on.  373 

tug  which  conveyed  them  through  the  Narrows,  trans 
ferred  them  to  the  'Star  of  the  West,'  and  then  put  out 
to  sea  to  be  gone  two  or  three  days.  The  '  Star  of  the 
West '  got  under  headway  Saturday,  January  5,  ostensibly 
for  New  Orleans,  and  it  was  not  till  yesterday  that  the 
matter  appeared  in  the  newspapers.  The  public  mind  is 
now,  consequently,  in  a  most  feverish  condition.  If  the 
seceders  of  South  Carolina  fire  on  the  '  Star  of  the  West,' 
either  from  Fort  Moultrie  or  from  Morris  Island,  I  trust 
it  may  cause  unity  of  sentiment  at  the  North,  and  that 
the  war  may  commence  in  earnest." 

"January  IO. 

"  Rumors  reach  Washington  in  the  newspapers,  and 
last  night  by  wire,  that  the  South  Carolinians  have  been 
firing  on  the  '  Star  of  the  West.'  It  is  reported  that  the 
ship  did  not  get  into  the  harbor  to  reinforce  Major 
Anderson,  and  that  several  shots  struck  her  from  the 
batteries  on  Morris  and  Sullivan's  Island.  Thus  the 
drama  advances !" 

The  above  rumors  proved  true.  Two  shots  struck  the 
"  Star  of  the  West,"  but  no  person  on  board  was  hit. 

"WASHINGTON,  January  16,  1861. 

"  To-day  Mr.  Gourdin  from  Charleston  (a  member  of 
the  South  Carolina  Convention),  was  in  the  office.  He 
gave  a  list  of  the  grievances  of  South  Carolina,  and  he 
seemed  convinced  that  the  Charlestonians  are  right  in 
the  main,  but,  like  other  men  under  strong  excitement, 
they  sometimes  would  do  foolish  things  and  things  to  be 
regretted.  I  told  him  it  would  cause  great  and  universal 
hostility  at  the  North  if  they  longer  cut  off  the  necessary 
comforts  for  Major  Anderson  and  his  garrison  in  Fort 
Sumter. 
.  "  After  the  futile  attempt  of  the  «  Star  of  the  West '  to 


374  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

land  reinforcements  and  supplies,  Anderson  and  his  little 
band  'of  heroes  were  left  to  encounter  the  hardships  and 
discomforts  of  a  siege.  On  the  other  hand,  the  vaunting 
seceders  continued  their  destructive  preparations  with 
unmolested  vigor.  All  things  being  ready,  an  aged  Con 
federate  patriot  named  Ruffin,  a  native  of  Virginia, 
claimed  the  right  of  a  debutant  in  the  national  tragedy, 
and  it  was  he  who,  on  April  12,  1861,  discharged  the  first 
shot  at  Fort  Sumter,  which,  being  set  on  fire,  forced  the 
garrison  shortly  to  surrender.  The  noise  of  the  gun  that 
Ruffm  set  off  was  soon  known  to  the  entire  civilized 
world.  The  shock  stimulated  and  united  the  hearts  of 
Northern  men,  and  was  the  practical  beginning  of  the 
civil  war  in  America." 

Among  the  apothegms  of  Holy  Writ  there  are  few 
which  upon  probation  leave  in  the  memory  a  more  frigid 
impression  than  this:  " Pride  goeth  before  a  fall."  The 
South  Carolinians  learned  in  after-times  the  truth  of  this, 
since  they  were  the  proudest  people  I  have  known,  and 
their  fall  has  been  the  most  signal. 

"  How  nations  sink  by  darling  schemes  opprest, 
When  vengeance  listens  to  the  fool's  request." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Reinforcement  of  Fort  Pickens.— Captain  Vogdes.— Gen.  Scott  on  the 
situation  of  Fort  Pickens. —Interview  between  Lincoln  and  Scott. — My 
interview  with  the  President  and  Mr.  Seward. — The  expedition  ordered. 
— Lincoln's  letter  of  authority. — Gen.  Butler. — Close  of  my  secretary 
ship. — Service  under  Morgan  of  New  York. 

ON  the  25th  of  March,  the  subject  of  Fort  Pickens 
was  brought  into  notice  as  follows  :  On  that  day 
a  correspondence  between  Lieutenant  A.  J.  Slemmer  of 
the  United  States  Army,  commanding  Fort  Pickens, 
Pensacola  Harbor,  and  Major-General  Braxton  Bragg, 
commanding  the  forces  of  the  Confederate  States  at 
Pensacola,  was  read  by  the  President  and  Cabinet.  It 
appears  by  the  correspondence  that  it  was  the  impression 
of  both  Slemmer  and  Bragg,  that  the  armistice  previously 
agreed  on  in  Washington  required  notice  of  its  discon 
tinuance,  and  that  while  it  lasts  the  United  States  can 
not,  without  a  breach  of  faith,  land  Captain  Vogdes' 
company  from  the  ship-of-war  "  Brooklyn,"  nor  do  any 
other  act  to  reinforce  or  strengthen  Fort  Pickens. 

It  now  appears  that  Bragg,  under  the  real  or  feigned 
belief  that  Slemmer  had,  during  the  armistice,  raised  a 
battery  across  Santa  Rosa  Island,  has  been  at  work  forti 
fying  the  opposite  shore  of  the  channel.  Slemmer  denies 
that  he  has  erected  a  battery  on  the  island  as  accused. 

The  history  of  the  armistice  above  referred  to  strikingly 
illustrates  the  respect  paid  by  the  United  States  Gov 
ernment  to  the  men  who  were  laboring  openly  to  destroy 
it.  It  appears  that  about  the  2Qth  day  of  January,  1861, 


Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

a  telegram  from  Mr.  Mallory  was  received  by  Messrs. 
Slidell,  Hunter,  and  Bigler,  and  laid  before  the  President 
of  the  United  States.  The  purpose  of  that  telegram  was 
to  avoid  a  hostile  collision  at  Fort  Pickens,  and  to  give 
the  assurance  of  Colonel  Chase  that  no  assault  would  be 
made  by  the  Confederates. 

Thereupon  the  Secretaries,  Holt  and  Toucey,  of  the 
War  and  Navy  departments,  did,  on  the  2Qth  of  January 
aforesaid,  address  a  joint  note  to  the  naval  commanders 
near  Pensacola,  and  to  Lieutenant  Slemmer  at  Fort 
Pickens,  forbidding  Captain  Vogdes  to  land  his  company 
unless  the  fort  should  be  attacked.  The  right  to  land  pro 
visions  and  ammunition  was  reserved,  and  communication 
with  the  United  States  Government  must  be  kept  open 
and  free. 

Mr.  Holt  asserted  that  the  sole  motive  of  the  joint 
letter  was  to  avoid  "irritation"  during  the  Peace  Con 
vention,  which  commenced  its  session  at  Washington, 
February  4,  1861. 

General  Scott  remarked  that  he  never  saw  the  joint 
letter  of  the  two  secretaries  until  the  2$th  of  March, 
though  he  was  informed  by  Mr.  Holt  of  its  substance  at 
about  the  time  it  was  written.  Mr.  Holt  declared  that 
there  was  no  obligation  implied  or  expressed  to  prevent 
the  landing  of  Vogdes  and  his  company  of  artillery.  On 
the  contrary,  he  thought  our  Government  was  at  full 
liberty  to  land  the  troops  without  giving  any  kind  of 
notice  to  the  Confederate  forces. 

Notwithstanding  the  armistice,  Captain  Vogdes  went 
on  shore  with  his  company,  and  assumed  command  of  the 
fort.  He  was  astonished  at  its  meagre  armament,  and  its 
poverty  in  everything  requisite  for  a  defence,  and  with 
out  loss  of  time  he  made  requisitions  to  supply  all  de 
ficiencies. 


General  Vogdes.  377 

As  Captain,  now  General,  Vogdes  was  often  referred  to 
in  connection  with  the  subject  under  consideration,  it  is 
proper  that  I  should  say  a  word  of  an  old  friend  from 
whom  the  tide  of  life  has  long  separated  me.  While  I 
was  his  neighbor  at  West  Point,  Vogdes  was  assistant 
professor,  and  remarkable  for  three  things.  He  was 
among  the  leading  mathematicians,  one  of  the  most  skil 
ful  chess  players  at  the  Point,  and  the  best-read  man  in 
the  military  history  and  campaigns  of  the  great  Napoleon 
of  the  whole  army.  His  disposition  was  amiable,  albeit  a 
trifle  irritable,  while  certain  oddities  of  voice  and  manner 
and  other  eccentricities  tended  to  detract  from  his  de 
served  reputation.  While  he  commanded  at  Fort 
Pickens,  a  body  of  rebels  stole  across  to  the  island  in  the 
night  to  alarm  or  capture  the  fort.  Vogdes,  at  the  head 
of  a  party  of  his  troops,  sallied  out  to  repel  the  marauders, 
among  whom  was  a  West  Point  associate,  who  recog 
nized  his  shrill  voice.  Guided  by  that,  which  continued 
to  direct  them,  a  few  of  the  assailants  found  it  not  diffi 
cult  to  gather  around  the  captain,  to  seize  his  person,  and 
carry  him  away  into  captivity.  Even  in  the  depth  of 
his  prison-house,  Vogdes'  strategical  faculties  remained 
bright,  and  he  made  some  happy  suggestions  for  the  con 
duct  of  the  war  on  the  Potomac. 

Subjects  connected  with  Fort  Pickens  had  been  con 
stantly  discussed,  and  I  find  in  my  journal  of  March  29 
the  following  entry : 

"  Last  night  General  Scott  went  to  dine  with  the 
President.  I  came  in  at  5  P.M.,  and  found  him  talking 
with  Senator  Sumner  of  Massachusetts.  The  subject 
under  discussion  was  Fort  Pickens.  I  had  while  in  New 
York,  some  ten  or  fifteen  days  before,  written  to  General 
Scott,  to  set  forth  the  difficulty  of  landing  ordnance 
stores  on  the  beach  for  Fort  Pickens.  I  also  added,  that 


378  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

if  the  fort  needed  all  that  Captain  Vogdes  had  made  re 
quisitions  for,  it  must  be  in  a  bad  way.  I  thought  the 
matter  serious,  and  that  General  Scott's  attention  should 
be  called  to  it  especially.  On  my  return  from  New  York, 
I  suggested  that,  in  consideration  of  the  difficulty  of  re 
inforcing  Fort  Pickens,  it  would  be  better  to  give  it  and 
Fort  Sumter  up  together,  as  an  act  of  grace.  Those  two 
forts  may  be  considered  as  having  been  given  up  by  Bu 
chanan's  administration. 

"  Before  dinner  the  General  received  from  President 
Lincoln  a  note,  asking  him  to  come  at  once  to  the  execu 
tive  mansion.  On  setting  out,  the  General  whispered  to 
me,  that  Mr.  Lamon  had  informed  him  (Mr.  Lamon 
had  been  down  to  Charleston  with  a  letter  from  General 
Scott,  with  the  sanction  of  Mr.  Lincoln)  that  Governor 
Pickens  wished  to  come  back  into  the  Union.  The 
General  also  remarked  that  he  supposed  Mr.  Lincoln 
wished  to  converse  with  him  about  Forts  Sumter  and 
Pickens,  and  he  seemed  to  expect  the  President  would  be 
willing  to  give  up  both. 

"  This  morning  the  General  appeared  to  be  troubled. 
He  told  me  that  the  long  conversation  he  had  with  Mr. 
Lamon  about  the  forts,  and  which  he  supposed  Lamon 
reported  to  the  President,  had  apparently  not  been  re 
ported.  The  President  said  Anderson  had  played  us  false, 
and  he  seemed  to  indicate  a  want  of  consistency  in  Gen 
eral  Scott's  own  views  concerning  Fort  Pickens.  The 
President  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  his  administration 
would  be  broken  up  unless  a  more  decided  policy  was 
adopted,  and  if  General  Scott  could  not  carry  out  his 
views,  some  other  person  might.  This  last  alternative 
was  dimly  shadowed  forth  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  conver 
sation,  and  it  seems  to  have  disturbed  General  Scott 
greatly/; 


Fort  Pic  kens.  379 

"WASHINGTON,  Easier-Day,  March  31,  1861. 

"  Last  night  and  this  morning  General  Scott  was  en 
gaged  in  writing  a  short  chronological  history  of  Forts 
Sumter  and  Pickens.  Doubtless  he  was  inclined  to  do 
so  by  the  President's  conversation  with  him,  and  by  the 
conviction  that,  knowing  the  progress  the  secessionists 
have  made  in  closing  in  Fort  Sumter,  and  in  fortifying 
the  whole  western  side  of  the  Harbor  of  Pensacola  with 
strong  batteries,  the  two  forts  must  soon  be  captured,  or 
given  up.  Moreover  the  general  feels  nettled  at  the 
idea  of  having  been  considered  tardy  in  making  prepara 
tions  to  reinforce  Fort  Pickens,  which  President  Lincoln 
told  me  he  had  given  orders  on  the  tyh  of  March  to  be  done. 

"  In  consequence  of  the  above,  the  general  conversed 
at  length  with  me,  and  he  appeared  glad  that  I  agreed 
with  him  as  to  the  policy  of  surrendering  the  forts,  or 
rather  of  withdrawing  the  garrisons  from  them.  I  sug 
gested  that  it  should  be  done,  and  that  a  paper  should  be 
drawn  up  by  an  able  writer,  that  would  give  an  air  of 
grace  to  the  concession." 

The  foregoing  proves  the  sad  truth  in  regard  to  myself, 
that  I  had  in  despair  surrendered  my  own  opinions.  I, 
however,  retain  the  consolation  that  as  I  knew  the  abso 
lute  weakness  of  the  forts  and  the  strength  of  the 
rebels,  the  forts  must  soon  be  surrendered  or  capt 
ured.  I  conscientiously  refrained  from  all  allusions 
to  the  Navy,  because  I  could  not  arrive  at  any  clear 
understanding  of  the  designs  of  Secretary  Welles  in  re 
gard  to  his  co-operation.  That  there  was  no  energetic 
co-operation  on  his  part,  although  the  assistance  of  armed 
ships  was  absolutely  required,  is  strikingly  apparent. 
During  the  whole  time  which  intervened  from  Ander 
son's  movement  to  Fort  Sumter  till  his  final  evacuation, 


380  Fifty   Years    Observation. 

I  witnessed  no  disposition  to  employ  force  to  protect 
the  Southern  forts  in  any  of  the  directing  agents  of  the 
Federal  Government,  except  President  Lincoln  and  Mr. 
Seward  his  Secretary  of  State. 

At  breakfast  on  Easter  morning,  the  General  encour 
aged  me  to  talk.  I  spoke  at  length,  and  went  into  mi 
nute  details  of  the  manner  of  landing  heavy  guns,  gun- 
carriages  and  ammunition  on  the  sand  beach  of  Santa 
Rosa  Island,  and  getting  them  into  the  fort.  I  told  him 
it  would  be  futile  to  attempt  the  reinforcement  weak- 
handed.  During  my  explanations  I  was  astonished  at 
the  expression  of  the  General's  face.  He  did  not  once 
interrupt  me,  though  I  continued  speaking  not  less  than 
half  an  hour.  A  portion  of  the  time,  however,  his 
thoughts  appeared  to  wander  from  my  discourse.  As 
soon  as  I  had  finished  speaking  he  wheeled  in  his  chair, 
reached  out  his  hand  and  took,  from  a  pile  of  rolled-up 
maps  and  plans,  a  long  roll,  and  handed  it  to  me.  It 
was  a  map  of  the  Harbor  of  Pensacola  and  its  surround 
ings,  which  I  did  not  know  was  in  the  room.  "Take 
this  map,"  said  he,  "  to  Mr.  Seward,  and  repeat  to  him 
exactly  what  you  have  just  said  to  me  about  the  difficulty 
of  reinforcing  Fort  Pickens." 

As  I  had  entirely  abandoned  all  hope  and  expectation 
that  any  serious  effort  was  to  be  made  to  relieve  the 
post,  I  regarded  my  errand  as  one  of  the  merest  form. 
So,  placing  the  roll  under  my  left  arm,  I  passed  down 
Sixth  Street  to  the  Avenue  and  strolled  along  towards 
the  Treasury  Building. 

My  pace  was  slower  than  usual,  as  I  anticipated  I  had 
time  to  talk  ten  minutes  with  Governor  Seward,  and 
then  be  early  at  St.  Matthew's  Church,  where  I  intended 
to  go.  I  was  stopped  by  an  acquaintance,  who  enquired 
what  that  long  roll  contained.  I  told  him  it  related  to 


Plan  to  Reinforce  Fort  Pic  kens.  381 

unfinished  business,  and  I  was  going  to  leave  it  with 
Governor  Seward. 

Arriving  at  Mr.  Seward's  house  on  F  Street,  I  was  ad 
mitted,  and  found  the  astute  Secretary  standing  in  the 
middle  of  his  parlor  alone.  After  a  respectful  salutation, 
I  said : 

"  Mr.  Seward,  I  am  here  by  direction  of  General  Scott, 
to  explain  to  you  the  difficulties  of  reinforcing  Fort 
Pickens." 

"  I  don't  care  about  the  difficulties,"  said  he.  "Where's 
Captain  Meigs  ?  " 

"  I  suppose  he's  at  his  house,  sir." 

"Please  find  him  and  bring  him  here.'' 

"  I'll  call  and  bring  him  on  my  return  from  church." 

"Never  mind  church  to-day;  I  wish  to  see  him  and 
you  here  together  without  delay." 

Notwithstanding  I  had  been  long  subject  to  obey  mili 
tary  commands  implicitly,  a  rebellious  thought  arose  in 
my  mind,  when  I  received  from  Secretary  Seward  such 
clean-cut  orders.  Nevertheless  I  reflected  that  he  could 
speak  from  the  ambush  of  original  power,  and  concluded 
to  obey  him  with  alacrity,  and  within  ten  minutes  Meigs 
and  I  stood  together  before  him. 

Without  preliminary  remarks  Mr.  Seward  said :  "  I 
wish  you  two  gentlemen  to  make  a  plan  to  reinforce 
Fort  Pickens,  see  General  Scott,  and  bring  your  plan 
to  the  Executive  Mansion  at  3  o'clock  this  after 
noon." 

Accordingly  we  hastened  to  the  office  of  the  Engineers, 
and  the  negro  custodian  allowed  us  to  enter  without 
obstruction.  Meigs,  being  familiar  with  all  the  deposi 
tories,  went  directly  to  that  which  contained  the  maps 
and  plans  of  the  Pensacola  Harbor  and  the  fort.  Having 
spread  them  out  upon  the  large  tables,  we  commenced 


382  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

work,  each  in  his  own  way,  and  continued  our  labors 
nearly  four  hours  with  scarcely  a  word  from  either  one  of 
us.  We  made  out  lists  of  everything  a  bare  fort  would 
require;  calculated  the  weight  and  bulk  of  the  various 
pieces  and  packages,  the  tonnage  needed,  and  the  num 
ber  of  troops  of  the  different  arms  required  to  place  the 
fort  in  a  state  of  siege.  Meigs  made  out  sailing  direc 
tions  partly,  and  a  requisition  for  machines  to  sweeten 
sea  water.  We  finished  our  plans  almost  simultaneously, 
and  started  at  once  for  the  White  House.  On  arriving 
at  the  door,  I  found  by  my  watch  that  it  lacked  only  five 
minutes  to  3  o'clock,  and  that  it  was  impossible  for 
me  to  go  to  Sixth  Street,  see  General  Scott,  and  report 
at  the  White  House  at  the  appointed  hour.  Neverthe 
less  I  concluded  to  go  in  and  lay  the  case  before  my 
superiors. 

We  found  the  President  and  Secretary  of  State  waiting 
to  receive  us  in  the  Executive  Mansion.  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  sitting  behind  the  table  near  the  end ;  his  right  leg, 
from  the  knee  to  foot,  which  was  not  small,  rested  on  the 
table,  his  left  leg  on  a  chair,  and  his  hands  were  clasped 
over  his  head.  Those  positions  were  changed  frequently 
during  the  conference,  and  I  never  saw  a  man  who  could 
scatter  his  limbs  more  than  he.  We  sat  down,  and  the 
places  occupied  by  the  four  persons  were  about  the 
corners  of  a  square  of  eight  feet  sides. 

"Gentlemen,  are  you  ready  to  report?"  said  Mr. 
Seward. 

"  I  am  ready,"  said  I,  "  but  I  have  not  had  time  to  see 
General  Scott,  who  is  entirely  ignorant  of  what  I  have 
been  doing.  As  I  am  his  military  secretary,  he  will  be 
angry  if  I  don't  let  him  know." 

"  I'm  not  General  Scott's  military  secretary,  and  I  am 
ready  to  report,"  was  the  remark  of  Meigs. 


The  Plan.  383 

Mr.  Lincoln  then  said  :  "  There's  no  time  to  lose.  Let 
us  hear  your  reports,  gentlemen." 

Meigs  read  first,  and  his  plan  was  as  new  to  me  as  to 
the  other  auditors.  Then  I  read  mine,  and  there  was 
nothing  especially  discordant  in  the  two.  Meigs  went 
more  into  the  details  of  engineering,  and  I  into  those  of 
artillery,  which  was  my  specialty.  When  we  spoke  of 
scarps,  counterscarps,  terreplains,  barbettes,  trench  cava 
liers,  etc.,  Mr.  Seward  interrupted,  saying : 

"  Your  excellency  and  I  don't  understand  all  those 
technical  military  terms." 

"  That's  so,"  said  Mr.  Lincoln ;  "  but  we  understand 
that  the  rare  rank  goes  right  behind  the  front ! "  and  then 
he  brought  both  feet  to  the  floor  and  clasped  his  hands 
between  his  knees. 

As  soon  as  the  readings  were  at  an  end,  not  a  sugges 
tion  of  an  amendment  or  addition  having  been  made  by 
either  of  the  august  personages  to  whom  we  had  ad 
dressed  ourselves,  the  President  said :  "  Gentlemen,  see 
General  Scott,  and  carry  your  plans  into  execution  with 
out  delay." 

It  was  already  close  upon  six  o'clock,  which  was  our 
dinner-hour,  and  I  made  haste  to  return  home.  I  found 
General  Scott  seated  alone  at  the  table,  and  saw  in  his 
countenance  such  a  mixture  of  anger  and  anxiety  as  I 
had  never  witnessed  before. 

"  Where  have  you  been  all  day?"  said  he. 

Then  I  described  to  him  in  the  fewest  words  possible 
how  Mr.  Seward  had  declined  to  listen  to  my  explana 
tions;  how  he  had  directed  me  and  Captain  Meigs  to 
make  a  plan  to  reinforce  Fort  Pickens ;  how  he  had  told 
me  to  see  General  Scott  and  come  to  the  Executive 
Mansion  at  3  o'clock  P.M.  How  I  had  been  detained 
till  it  was  too  late  to  see  him  before  that  hour,  and  how 


384  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

Mr.  Lincoln  had  told  me  "  to  read  my  plan  without  first 
seeing  you !" 

11  Did  he  tell  you  that  ?  "  said  the  general. 

"He  did,  sir!"  said  I,  and  then  there  was  a  pause  of 
at  least  five  minutes. 

It  was  easy  for  me  to  perceive  that  my  chief  was  strug 
gling  to  restrain  a  tremendous  emotion.  He  no  doubt 
felt,  as  he  looked,  like  a  haughty  dictator  who  had  been 
over-ruled.  The  majesty  of  his  mien,  which  in  times 
past  was  so  threatening  when  thwarted  in  his  preroga 
tive,  was  not  now  apparent.  In  its  stead  I  noted  in  his 
countenance  that  gloomy  sadness,  which  antedates  but 
little  the  culmination  of  honors  and  the  lapse  of  power. 

The  spectacle  before  me  demanded  a  deferential 
silence  on  my  part,  which  I  neglected  to  guard.  To  the 
excitability  of  my  temperament  was  due  a  gross  breach 
of  decorum,  of  which,  at  the  time,  I  was  unconscious. 
Gladness  sparkled  in  my  eyes,  and  the  tones  of  my  voice 
were  joyous.  The  dogs  of  War  were  to  be  let  slip,  and 
I  a  factor !  Moreover  all  my  faculties  had  been  in  vio 
lent  exercise  during  ten  hours  without  refreshment  of 
any  kind.  There  was  not  a  mouthful  of  victuals,  nor  a 
drop  of  drink  in  the  War  Office,  nor  in  the  executive 
mansion,  for  us.  Consequently  I  brought  to  the  table  the 
appetite  of  a  Siberian  wolf  in  winter,  and  the  thirst  of  a 
Bedouin  returned  from  a  foray  in  the  scorched  sand  of 
Arabia.  The  dinner  was  good  and  the  wines  choice.  I 
indulged  my  voracity,  while  the  general  sat  musing,  and 
between  every  three  or  four  turns  of  my  knife  and  fork  I 
poured  off  a  bumper,  throwing  my  head  back  to  imbibe 
the  last  drop.  What  happened  after  dinner  I  cannot  re 
member.  It  is  certain  that  I  was  full  of  bread  and 
well  charged  with  distempering  draughts,  though  I  was 
not  by  any  means  drunk.  I  sought  my  bed  early,  and 


Despatch  to  Col.  Brown.  385 

after  a  long  sleep  I  arose    refreshed  for  the  hard  work 
of  the  following  day. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  April  i,  Meigs  and  I 
commenced  our  preparatory  work  in  the  various  mili 
tary  bureaus  at  Washington.  We  needed  time  to  select 
officers,  troops  and  material  required,  and  to  ascertain 
where  they  were.  Colonel  Harvey  Brown  of  the  Artil 
lery  was  selected  to  command  the  expedition,  and  we 
drew  up  the  following  letter  of  instructions  to  him,  the 
authorship  of  the  letter  being  about  equally  the  work  of 
Meigs  and  me ;  except  the  words  "  if  necessary  for  de 
fence,"  which  were  inserted  by  Mr.  Seward,  to  whom  I 
submitted  the  letter.  General  Scott,  before  whom  I 
afterwards  laid  it,  attached  his  signature  without  remark 
or  comment. 

HEADQUARTERS  OF  THE  ARMY,         ) 

WASHINGTON,  April  i,  1861.  ) 

Brev,et  Colonel  Harvey  Brown,  United  States  Army,  Washington,  D.  C. 

SIR  :.— You  have  been  designated  to  take  command  of  an  expedition  to 
reinforce  and  to  hold  Fort  Pickens  in  the  Harbor  of  Pensacola. 

You  will  proceed  with  the  least  possible  delay  to  that  place,  and  you  will 
assume  command  of  all  the  land  forces  of  the  United  States  within  the 
limits  of  the  State  of  Florida.  . 

You  will  proceed  to  New  York,  where  steam  transportation  for  four  com 
panies  will  be  engaged,  and  putting  on  board  such  supplies  as  you  can  ship 
without  delay,  proceed  at  once  to  your  destination. 

The  engineer  company  of  sappers  and  miners,  Brevet  Major  Hunt's 
Company  M,  2d  Artillery,  Captain  John's  Company  C,  3d  Infantry, 
Captain  Clitz's  Company  E,  3d  Infantry,  'will  embark  with  you  in  the  first 
steamer.  Other  troops  and  full  supplies  will  be  sent  after  you,  as  soon  as 
possible. 

Captain  Meigs  will  accompany  you  as  engineer,  and  will  remain  with  you 
until  you  are  established  in  Fort  Pickens,  when  he  will  return  to  resume 
his  duties  in  this  city. 

The  other  members  of  your  staff  will  be  :  Assistant  Surgeon  John  Camp 
bell,  Med.  Staff ;  Captain  Rufus  Ingalls,  Assistant  Quartermaster  ;  Captain 
Henry  F.  Clark,  Commissary  of  Subsistence,  and  1st  Lieutenant  George 
F.  Balch,  Ordnance  Officer. 
17 


386  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

The  object  and  destination  of  this  expedition  will  be  communicated  to  no 
person  to  whom  it  is  not  already  known. 

The  naval  officers  in  the  Gulf  will  be  instructed  to  co-operate  with  you, 
and  to  afford  every  facility  in  their  power  for  the  accomplishment  of  the 
object  of  the  expedition,  which  is  the  security  of  Fort  Pickens  against  all 
attacks,  foreign  and  domestic. 

Should  a  shot  be  fired  at  you,  you  will  defend  yourself  and  your  expe 
dition  at  whatever  hazard,  and,  if  needful  for  defence,  inflict  upon  the 
assailant  all  the  damage  in  your  power,  within  the  range  of  your  guns. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Keyes,  Military  Secretary,  will  be  authorized  to 
give  all  necessary  orders  and  to  call  upon  the  staff  departments  for 
every  requisite  material  and  for  transportation,  and  other  steamers  will  fol 
low  that  upon  which  you  embark,  to  carry  reinforcements,  supplies  and  pro 
visions  for  Fort  Pickens  for  six  months. 

Captain  Barry's  battery  will  follow  as  soon  as  a  vessel  can  be  fitted  for 
its  transportation.  Two  or  three  foot  companies  will  embark  the  same 
time  with  the  battery. 

All  the  companies  will  be  filled  up  to  the  maximum  standard.  Those  to 
embark  first  from  recruits  in  the  harbor  of  New  York.  The  other  com 
panies  will  be  filled,  if  practicable,  with  instructed  soldiers. 

You  will  make  Fort  Jefferson  your  main  depot  and  base  of  operations. 
You  will  be  careful  not  too  much  to  reduce  the  means  of  the  fortresses  on  the 
Florida  Reef,  as  they  are  deemed  of  greater  importance  than  even  Fort 
Pickens.  [We  regarded  them  as  constituting  the  key  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.] 

The  naval  officers  in  the  Gulf  will  be  instructed  to  co-operate  with  you  in 
every  way  in  order  to  ensure  the  safety  of  Fort  Pickens,  Fort  Jefferson,  and 
Fort  Taylor. 

You  will  freely  communicate  with  them  to  this  end,  and  will  exhibit  to 
them  the  authority  of  the  President  herewith. 

With  great  confidence  in  your  judgment,  zeal,  and  intelligence,  etc. 

[Signed]        WINFIELD  SCOTT. 

The  paragraph  directing  Colonel  Brown  to  defend 
himself  in  case  he  should  be  fired  upon  was  written  by 
me,  and  when  Mr.  Seward  insisted  on  the  insertion  of  the 
words,  "  if  needful  for  defence''  I  speculated  on  his 
motives  and  the  character  of  his  mind,  which  could 
suggest  a  benefit  from  such  a  diplomatic  caution  in  my 
military  composition.  In  writing  the  directions  I  antici- 


Ordered  to  New  York. 


pated  the  possibility  that  a  rebel  or  piratical  cruiser 
might  cross  his  track,  and  in  case  a  shot  or  shell  should 
come  hissing  through  the  air  from  a  craft  bearing  an  un 
recognized  flag,  he  was  instructed  to  return  it,  and 
to  damage  his  assailant  to  the  utmost  of  his  strength.  I 
have  known  officers  who  were  so  scrupulous  about  orders 
that,  seeing  such  a  phrase,  they  would,  after  the  shot  was 
fired,  call  a  council  of  war  to  determine  its  meaning,  and 
thus  give  time  to  the  rover  on  the  sea  to  cripple  and 
capture  the  ship. 

As  I  desired  before  leaving  Washington  to  have  in  my 
possession  such  a  warrant  of  authority  as  would  secure  to 
me  instantaneous  obedience  of  all  the  staff  and  other 
officers  in  and  about  New  York,  I  wrote  the  following 
order,  and  carried  it  to  General  Scott  for  his  signature. 
He  took  the  order  and  held  it  in  his  hand,  looking  at  it 
two  or  three  minutes.  Then  he  returned  it  to  me, 
saying,  "  You  had  better  get  the  President  to  sign  that 
order."  I  then  changed  the  heading,  carried  it  to  the 
White  House,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  signed  it  without  a 
moment's  hesitation. 

The  order  was  as  follows  : 

EXECUTIVE  MANSION,  WASHINGTON,  ) 
1  86  1.      \ 


Lieutenant-Colonel  E.  D.  Keyes,  United  States  Army,  Military  Secretary  : 

You  will  proceed  forthwith  to  the  city  of  New  York  to  carry  out  the  in 
structions  which  you  have  received  here.  All  requisitions  made  upon 
officers  of  the  staff  by  your  authority,  and  all  orders  given  by  you  to  any 
officer  of  the  Army  in  my  name,  will  be  instantly  obeyed. 

[Signed]        ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Having  ascertained  the  stations  and  depositions  of  all 
the  troops  and  materials  we  should  require,  and  armed 
with  the  President's  mandate,  which  is  few  in  words  but 
spacious  in  effect,  Captain  Meigs,  Lieutenant  Porter  (now 


Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

admiral  of  the  Navy),  and  I  left  Washington  in  the  even 
ing  train  of  April  3,  for  New  York.  It  was  past  midnight 
when  we  embarked  in  the  ferry-boat  at  Philadelphia  to 
cross  the  Delaware.  As  the  boat  was  about  to  cast  off,  I 
heard  a  group  of  men  talking  about  us.  One  of  them 
said  "There's  General  Scott's  secretary;  what's  up?" 
Spies  were  so  thick  in  those  days  that  I  assumed  an  air 
of  indifference,  and  said,  "  Meigs,  I'm  not  going  to  travel 
all  night ;  please  look  out  for  my  trunk,  and  I'll  come  on 
in  the  morning  train,  if  I  don't  oversleep  myself."  The 
next  morning  I  took  the  route  via  Amboy,  and  while 
going  up  to  New  York  from  that  city  I  prepared  orders 
for  ordnance  and  recruiting  officers,  quartermaster  and 
commissary,  and  Meigs  being  on  hand  at  the  quarter 
master's  office  when  I  arrived,  a  buzz  of  activity  was 
started  immediately  in  the  city. 

Having  issued  orders,  some  in  the  name  of  Lieutenant- 
General  Scott  and  some  in  the  name  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  and  made  requisitions  upon  the 
quartermaster,  commissary,  ordnance,  and  recruiting 
officers,  the  medical  purveyor,  and  certain  engineer 
officers,  I  went  out  to  inspect  such  ships  and  vessels  as 
were  required.  I  agreed  at  once  to  the  charter  of  the 
steamers  "  Atlantic  "  and  the  "  Illinois,"  and  later  I  en 
gaged  the  "  Philadelphia,"  and  others  through  Colonel  D. 
D.  Tompkins,  assistant  quartermaster-general  in  charge 
at  New  York. 

The  amount  of  war  material  of  every  sort  and  subsis 
tence  of  all  kinds  for,  say,  750  men  for  six  months,  with 
forage  for  horses,  and  the  various  medical  and  quarter 
master's  stores,  including  fuel,  would  require  the  storage 
of  not  less  than  12,000  tons.  The  stevedores  were  awk 
ward  in  handling  some  of  the  heavy  ordnance,  the  gun 
carriages  and  ammunition,  and  I  was  obliged  to  give  fre- 


Loading  the  "Atlantic" 

quent  personal  attention  to  them.  Fortunately,  I  knew, 
and  had  at  my  tongue's  end,  the  dimensions  and  weight 
of  every  gun,  howitzer,  and  mortar  in  the  service,  as  well 
as  their  carriages,  and  the  same  of  every  weapon,  shot, 
shell,  and  box  of  cartridges  and  fuses.  Consequently  I 
could  aid  in  the  proper  placement  of  those  things. 

The  number  of  notes,  letters,  and  orders  to  be  written 
was  surprising,  and  the  men  who  came  to  offer  ships  and 
various  kinds  of  service  were  a  constant  interruption  to 
us.  We  were  obliged  to  cut  short  every  interview,  and 
decline  all  idle  talk,  and  by  the  incessant  labor  of  Meigs 
and  myself  we  had  the  large  steamer,  the  "  Atlantic," 
loaded  and  ready  to  sail  at  12  o'clock  M.,  on  the  6th  day  of 
April.  Thereupon  Captain  Meigs  addressed  the  follow 
ing  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  whom  we  both  re 
garded  as  the  chief  patron  and  originator  of  our  enter 
prise  : 

UNITED  STATES  TRANSPORT 

STEAMER  "  ATLANTIC,' 
2%  P.M.,  6th.  April,   1861. 

Hon.  W.  H.  Seivard,  Secretary  of  State . 

DEAR  SIR  : — By  great  exertions  within  less  than  six  days  from  the  time 
the  subject  was  broached  in  the  office  of  the  President,  a  war  steamer  sails 
from  this  port,  and  the  "  Atlantic,"  built  under  contract  to  be  at  the  service 
of  the  United  States  in  case  of  war,  will  follow  this  afternoon  with  five 
hundred  troops,  of  which  one  company  is  sappers  and  miners,  and  a 
mounted  battery.  The  "  Illinois  "  will  follow  on  Monday  with  the  stores 
which  the  "  Atlantic  "  could  not  hold. 

While  the  throwing  a  few  men  into  Fort  Pickens  may  seem  a  small  mat 
ter,  the  opening  of  a  campaign  is  a  great  one.  Unless  this  movement  is 
supported  by  ample  supplies  and  followed  up  by  the  navy,  it  will  be  a 
failure. 

This  is  the  beginning  of  a  war  which  every  statesman  and  soldier  has 
foreseen  since  the  passage  of  the  South  Carolina  ordinance  of  secession. 
You  will  find  the  army  and  navy  clogged  at  the  head  with  men,  excellent 
men — patriots,  who  were  soldiers  and  sailors  forty  years  ago,  but  who  now 
keep  active  men  out  of  their  places,  in  which  they  could  serve  the  country. 


•I 

86iJ 


3QO  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

If  you  call  out  volunteers  you  have  no  general  to  command.  The  genius, 
born,  not  made,  is  yet  to  be  found,  who  is  to  govern  this  great  army  which 
is  to  save  the  country,  if  saved  it  can  be. 

Colonel  Keyes  has  shown  intelligence,  zeal,  activity,  and  I  look  for  a 
high  future  for  him. 

England  took  six  months  to  get  a  soldier  to  the  Crimea.  We  were  from 
May  to  September  in  getting  General  Taylor  to  Monterey.  Let  us  be  sup 
ported.  We  go  to  serve  our  country,  and  our  country  should  not  neglect  us 
or  leave  us  to  be  strangled  in  tape,  however  red. 

I  remain,  etc., 

[Signed]     M.  C.  MEIGS. 

The  above  letter  was  the  frank  expression  of  the 
thoughts  of  the  writer  at  its  date.  Afterwards,  and 
recently,  when  younger  men,  "  excellent  men,  patriots," 
looked  with  longing  eyes  upon  the  office  of  Quarter 
master-General  of  the  Army,  which  he  held,  they  served 
up  the  ingredients  of  that  letter  as  their  chief  argument 
for  his  displacement,  and  they  succeeded  in  putting  him 
on  the  retired  list,  although  his  mind  is  still  bright,  and 
his  capacity  undiminished. 

At  the  time  Captain  Meigs  wrote  his  letter  to  Secre 
tary  Seward  he  was  young,  vigorous,  handsome,  clever, 
laborious,  and,  when  he  chose  to  be,  seductive.  When  I 
saw  him  last,  which  was  a  year  before  his  retirement  from 
active  service,  it  appeared  to  me  that  time  had  tallied 
the  years  upon  him  lightly,  and  I  noticed  no  signs  of 
mental  decay.  But  his  place  being  wanted,  he  was  ousted. 

The  habit  indulged  in  by  young  officers  of  the  army  of 
depreciating  the  capacity  of  their  seniors,  is  not  peculiar 
to  any  one  in  particular,  but  it  is  general.  There  is  a 
certain  age  at  which  the  majority  of  officers  become  unfit 
for  duty  in  the  field,  but  it  is  not  universal,  and  in  many 
cases  it  can  only  be  determined  individually.  Dr.  John 
son  said  a  man  might  hate  his  king  and  not  love  his 
country,  and  it  is  equally  evident  that  a  man  may  be 


Age  of  Military  Leaders.  391 

young  and  not  a  good  commander.  It  is  also  certain 
that  some  old  men  are  good  generals.  Caesar  was  past 
fifty  when  he  crossed  the  Rubicon  to  display,  at  a  later 
date,  the  most  wonderful  prodigies  of  his  genius  in  the 
field  against  Pompey,  Pharnaces,  Mutius  Scipio,  and  his 
old  lieutenant,  Labienus.  Genseric  shone  in  war  when 
much  older.  In  more  modern  times  the  Venetian  Dan- 
dolo  commanded  with  distinction  the  expedition  against 
Constantinople  when  he  was  ninety-two  years  old. 
Turenne,  who  was  the  first  general  of  his  age,  was 
killed  in  1675,  while  in  command  of  the  French  army, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-four  years,  and  his  opponent,  Monti- 
culi,  was  still  older.  Wurmser,  at  eighty  years,  gained 
the  respect  of  Napoleon  for  his  defence  of  Mantua,  and 
Radetski,  another  Austrian,  gained  the  battle  of  Novara, 
at  the  age  of  eighty- two.  Finally,  the  examples  of 
King  William  and  his  lieutenant,  Von  Moltke,  show  that 
septuagenarians  are  sometimes  fit  for  duty  in  the  field. 
Fitness  does  not  depend  upon  years,  but  upon  genius 
and  strength  and  preparation. 

The  "Atlantic,"  with  Colonel  Brown  and  Captain 
Meigs  on  board,  left  New  York  for  Pensacola  on  the  6th 
of  April,  P.M.  Captain  Grey  was  master  of  the  ship,  and 
I  addressed  to  him  the  following  laconic  note : 

NEW  YORK,  April  6,  1861. 
Captain  A.  A.  Grey,  Steamship  Atlantic: 

SIR. — The  expedition,  of  which  you  are  a  part,  is  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  Harvey  Brown.     You  will  therefore  implicitly  obey  his  orders. 
I  am,  sir,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

By  authority  [signed]     E.  D.  KEYES, 

Lieutenant-Colonel  United  States  Army. 

The  absence  of  Captain  Meigs  was  a  serious  loss  to  me, 
as  only  about  one-fourth  the  amount  of  stores  to  be  for- 
warded  was  on  board  the  "Atlantic."  Although  the 


392  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

"  Illinois  "  was  nearly  loaded,  I  had  after  the  "  Illinois" 
to  load  the  "  Philadelphia  "  and  three  sail-vessels,  which 
were  to  be  filled  partly  with  the  heaviest  cannon  and 
gun-carriages,  which  were  so  difficult  to  handle.  I  was 
obliged  to  examine  numerous  invoices  and  documents  to 
ascertain  what  had  been  shipped  and  what  more  was 
needed,  and  to  avoid  mistakes.  I  was  obliged  to  take 
measures  to  guard  my  secret,  and  I  had  for  only  clerk 
and  amanuensis  my  young  son,  E.  L.  Keyes,  to  whom  I 
took  care  not  to  mention  the  destination  of  the  expedi 
tion,  and  I  was  not  sure  whether  he  had  discovered  it 
or  not.  I  am  certain,  however,  that  Colonel  Brown  and 
Captain  Meigs  arrived  off  Santa  Rosa  Island  unex 
pectedly  to  Bragg,  and  made  success  certain. 

During  the  few  days  I  worked  with  Captain  Meigs, 
preparing  for  a  great  advantage,  which  was  the  security 
of  Pensacola  and  its  surroundings,  I  was  struck  with  the 
ease  with  which  he  grasped  his  subject  and  the  facility 
of  his  execution,  and  I  was  willing  to  concede  that,  what 
ever  might  be  the  merit  of  our  joint  labors,  the  measure 
of  praise  which  was  due  to  me  should  for  him  be  filled 
to  abundant  overflowing. 

Now  that  I  am  no  longer  spurred  by  ambition,  nor 
troubled  with  official  intrigues  and  jealousies,  it  amuses 
me  to  contemplate  the  off-hand  style  of  my  letters, 
orders,  and  other  communications,  of  which  I  proceed  to 
give  additional  specimens.  One  of  my  reasons  for  ad 
dressing  Mr.  Seward,  instead  of  my  chief,  was,  that  I 
fancied  a  letter  to  him  would  be  less  liable  to  be  tam 
pered  with. 

NEW  YORK,  April  7,  1861. 
Hon.   W.  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State. 

DEAR  SIR  .' — Captain  Meigs  received  a  telegram  to  stop  a  certain  vessel. 
Fortunately  it  came  too  late,  and  its  execution  would  have  struck  our  enter 
prise  between  the  horns. 


Letter  to  Seward.  393 

Coming  on  I  told  Porter,  of  the  Navy,  that  the  placing  of  one  or  two  ves- 
Bels  in  a  certain  place  in  time,  would  make  the  game  certain — without,  the 
loss  will  be  certain. 

I  found  some  difficulty  in  chartering  the  ships.  Insurance  companies 
wished  to  know  where  they  were  going.  I  wrote  on  a  slip  of  paper — "  To 
go  into  any  port  between  Passamaquoddy  Bay  and  Brazos,  or  any  port  in  the 
West  Indies  where  a  sloop  of  war  could  float."  This,  and  the  light  battery 
put  Wall  Street  in  a  mist. 

****** 

Meigs  has  head  and  pluck,  and  Brown  has  zeal  of  the  true  stamp.  When 
they  begin  to  work  look  out  for  the  capital,  Forts  Me  Henry  and  Monroe, 
the  arsenals  at  Washington  and  St.  Louis,  navy  yards,  armory,  &c.  To 
know  where  troops  are  to  be  had  at  a  moment's  notice  to  defend  them  will 
be  a  sine  qua  non. 

The  "Atlantic"  is  off  with  Meigs  and  Brown,  well  laden.  All  this 
Sunday  and  all  night  a  large  gang  of  men  will  be  loading  the  "Illinois," 
and  she,  I  trust,  will  be  on  her  way  when  the  sun  goes  down.  Then  I  must 
take  a  day  to  look  through  my  and  Meigs'  memoranda  to  know  what  has 
been  done,  and  what  we  expect  to  do.  We  could  not  employ  clerks  lest  our 
purpose  should  get  wind.  I  am  not  very  expert  with  the  pen,  and  Meigs 
writes  so  illegibly  that  what  he  commits  to  paper  I  call  fixed  facts. 

When  every  preparation  for  defence  is  made  two  bull-heads  should  be 
placed  in  command  of  Forts  Taylor  and  Jefferson,  and  Meigs,  who  can 
grasp  the  whole  subject,  ought  not  to  be  far  from  the  capital. 
I  am  sir,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

E.  D.  KEYES, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  U.  S.  Army,  Military  Secretary. 

P.  S. — I  have  not  time  to  write  to  any  one  but  you  to-day. 

The  vessel  referred  to  in  the  first  paragraph  of  the 
"above  letter  was  the  sloop  of  war  "  Powhatan  "  which  it 
appeared  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  desired  for  another 
purpose  than  ours.  At  the  moment  the  telegram  was  re 
ceived  to  detain  the  ship,  I  knew  she  had  not  passed  the 
Narrows,  and  might  have  been  stopped.  The  dispatch 
was  not  to  me,  and  as  I  thought  it  almost  indispensable 
that  the  vessel  should  go  to  Pensacola  I  said  nothing  and 
did  nothing  in  the  matter. 
17* 


394  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

My  second  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  State  was  the  fol 
lowing  : 

NEW  YORK,  April  10,  1861. 
Hon.  W.  H.  Seivard,  Secretary  of  Stale. 

SIR  : — Lieutenant  Rodgers  of  the  Navy  [afterward  Admiral  Rodgers]  has 
reported.  He  has  gathered  some  information  at  the  navy  yard  for  me. 
Nothing  can  be  ready  for  sea  soon  except  the  "  Perry"  ic-gun  brig.  The 
formidable  steam  frigates,  the  "Wabash"  and  the  4<  Roanoke,"  can  be 
got  ready  in  three  and  six  weeks,  so  we  must  rest  content  with  what  we 
have  in  the  Gulf  and  on  the  way  there. 

I  had  the  good  luck  to  get  on  board  the  "  Illinois"  one  battery  (Hunt's) 
of  Napoleon  guns,  with  ammunition  and  implements  complete,  and  another 
battery  (I  suppose  of  Dahlgren  guns)  from  the  navy  yard,  with  plenty 
of  ammunition.  In  the  "  Atlantic  "  some  shells  were  sent,  with  plenty  of 
primers  and  fuses,  cartridge  bags,  and  such  things  as  could  be  handled 
quickly. 

The  two  ships  took  better  than  six  weeks'  forage  for  the  horses  and  four 
months'  complete  rations  for,  say  720  men  ;  about  that  number  will  be  there, 
as  I  sent  75  recruits  to  fill  up,  etc.  I  am  straining  every  nerve  to  get  for 
ward  such  ordnance  and  stores  as  I  know  will  be  needed.  Enough  have 
gone  to  strike  the  first  blow  and  to  hold  for  a  while  against  all  they  (the 
secessionists)  can  do,  provided  the  naval  vessels  can  place  themselves.  I 
shall  charter  another  steamer  to-morrow  and  secure  the  right  to  tow  sail  ves 
sels  which  are  now  loading  with  such  things  as  cannot  be  got  on  board  the 
steamers.  If  large  demonstrations  are  made  there  it  will  be  necessary  to  in 
crease  our  force  to  the  war  standard,  which  is  1,250  men.  In  view  of  the 
present  complexion  of  affairs,  a  naval  and  military  depot  at  Fort  Jefferson, 
Tortugas,  is  a  thing  of  immediate  and  absolute  necessity.  That  depot 
should  contain  everything.  I  guard  my  secret  against  all.  Our  opposers 
lack  means  of  transportation,  mechanical  skill  and  capital.  To  distract 
their  attention  and  cloud  it  with  mystery  is  the  best  course. 

The  Union  sentiment,  or  the  conviction  that  the  Government  ought  to  be 
sustained,  is  growing  among  all  parties.  As  soon  as  the  first  blow  is  struck 
the  capital  will  be  in  real  danger. 

Curiosity  to  know  what  I  am  about  has  increased  so  much  that  I  address 
this  letter  to  you  instead  of  General  Scott.  I  am  kaown  to  be  his  secretary, 
and  my  letters  might  be  tampered  with.  Please  show  this  to  the  general  if 
it  is  worth  showing. 

I  remain  with  high  respect,  etc., 

[Signed]        E.  D.  KEYES, 

Lieutenant-Colonel  V.  S.  Army. 


Our  Instructions. 


395 


The  directions  contained  in  the  following  letter  were 
drawn  up  by  Captain  Meigs  while  we  were  engaged  to 
gether  forming  our  plans : 

NEW  YORK,  April,  1861. 
Lieutenant-Colonel  //.  S.  Brooks, 

Commanding  on  board  Steamship  "  Illinois" 

SIR  : — You,  and  the  captain  of  the  "  Illinois  "  through  you,  will  be  gov 
erned  by  the  following  orders,  which  are  to  be  opened  at  sea  below  Cape 
Hatteras : 

{As  before  directed,  you  will  have  discharged  your  pilot 
in  deep  water  and  have  passed  Cape  Hatteras  twenty 
miles  to  the  eastward. 


No.  3. 


No.  4, 


No.  5. 


•  Cross  the  Gulf  at  right  angles  ;  steer  then  for  Mata- 
milles  Bank  ;  coast  along  the  edge  to  lat.  25°  36';  thence 
make  Carysford  Light,  and  follow  the  usual  course  to  Key 
West. 

f  Land  the  District  Attorney  Boynton  at  Key  West. 
J  Have  no  communication  with  the  shore  or  boats  except 
I  to  ask  for  orders  at  the  Fort,  but  proceed  with  all  speed 

[to  sea. 

(  Report  yourself  for  orders  to  Colonel  Brown,  off  Fort 
\  Pickens, 


No.  6. 


No.  7. 


Should  anything  prevent  a  literal  compliance  with  the 
above  directions,  you  will  follow  them  as  nearly  as  possi 
ble,  having  in  view  their  main  purpose,  which  is,  that  you 
should  report  to  Colonel  Brown,  off  Fort  Pickens,  without 
delay. 

f     Communicate  these  orders  to  no  person  whatsoever,  ex 
cept  to  the  captain  of  the  steamer,  and  it  is  supposed  it  will 
, . .  \  not  be  necessary  that  he  should  know  more  than  that  he  is 
to  steer  for  Key  West  ;  until  after  passing  that  point,  com- 
[  municate  no  more  than  is  actually  required. 

By  command  of  Lieutenant-General  Scott, 

[Signed]    E.  D.  KEYES, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  U.  S.  Army,  Military  Secretary. 


396  Fifty   Years'  Observation. 

Lieutenant-Commander  Rodgers  having  procured  much 
important  information  from  me,  our  relations  terminated 
with  the  following  note : 

NEW  YORK,  April  13,  1861. 

SIR  : — Having  given  me  the  assistance  and  information  required,  to  my 
entire  satisfaction,  you  are  now  at  liberty  to  return  to  Washington,  in  con 
formity  with  the  instructions  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  which  you  received 
on  the  8th  instant. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  etc. , 

.  [Signed]    E.  D.  KEYES, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  U.  S.  Army,  Military  Secretary. 

Commander  John  Rodgers,  U.  S.  Navy,  New  York. 

Having  received  no  instructions  from  my  chief  to  write 
to  him,  I  omitted  to  do  so,  for  fear  my  letters  would  be 
tampered  with.  My  first  letter  to  him  was  the  following: 

NEW  YORK,  April  13,  1861. 
Lieutenant-General  W.  Scott, 

Commander  of  U.  S.  Army,  Washington,  D.  C. 

SIR  : — The  steamer  "  Philadelphia  "  has  been  chartered  and  is  partly 
loaded.  The  work  is  suspended  to-day  by  the  rain,  as  most  of  the  cargo 
would  be  ruined  by  wet  storage.  This  steamer  will  carry  a  siege  battery  of 
ten  pieces,  with  everything  necessary  to  use  it,  also  ammunition,  imple 
ments,  and  other  necessaries  for  the  fort.  It  will  also  take  the  balance  of 
a  six  months'  supply  of  provisions  and  a  considerable  amount  of  forage  and 
lumber. 

If  the  first  blow  shall  have  been  struck  everybody  will  be  safe  and  com 
fortable  until  the  heavy  armament  arrives,  and  then  the  place  will  be  im 
pregnable  against  the  present  means  of  the  seceders. 

One  schooner  is  loaded  with  the  heavy  pieces,  and  two  others  will  be 
necessary.  To  place  them  on  shore  without  the  assistance  of  a  wharf  is  the 
great  puzzle .  I  will  do  what  I  can  here  to  solve  it. 

Commander  Rodgers,  sent  here  to  co-operate  with  me,  has  given  me  all 
the  information  I  desired  of  him.  The  day  he  reported  he  remarked  that 
he  was  a  border-State  man.  To-day  his  expressions  are  strongly  in  favor  of 
the  Government  against  all  opposers.  It  may  be  the  noise  at  Charleston 
has  brought  him,  as  it  has  brought  many  others,  to  a  just  conclusion.  I 
trust  it  has,  as  he  appears  to  be  an  officer  of  merit. 

The  "  Philadelphia  "  has  accommodations  for  a  company  of  men  if  it  is 


Letters  to  Scott  and  Seward.  397 

needful  to  send  another  company  South.     The  vessel  is  old,  however,  and 
not  so  safe  as  I  should  have  desired  for  troops. 

Commander  Rodgers  leaves  for  Washington  this  evening.  By  the  middle 
of  next  week  I  shall  have  accomplished  the  business  for  which  I  came  here, 
and  then  I  shall  leave  unless  otherwise  directed 

The  vigorous  measures  of  the  Government  are  giving  immense  encour 
agement,  and  the  traitors  at  the  North  will  soon  be  obliged  to  take  cover. 
I  wrote  last  to  the  Secretary  of  State  the  loth  instant. 
I  am,  general,  with  perfect  respect, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

E.  D.  KEYES, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  U.  S.  Army,  Military  Secretary. 

I  have  not  the  least  doubt  that  the  above  letter  pro 
duced  a  very  disagreeable  effect  upon  General  Scott, 
although  not  intended  by  me.  I  must  have  appeared  too 
positive  to  him,  and  the  word  "  traitor"  in  connection 
with  the  sectional  turmoil  which  then  existed,  had  an 
unmusical  sound  to  all  men  of  Southern  birth. 

My  next  letter  was  to  Mr.  Seward. 

NEW  YORK,  April  14,  1861. 
Hon.  W.  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State. 

SIR  :  — The  surrender  of  Fort  Sumter,  which  is  the  conclusion  of  a  series 
of  bad  things,  leaves  several  ships  at  liberty,  and  I  know  not  their  destina 
tion.  My  secret  is  not  out.  Some  conjecture  Saint  Domingo,  others  Texas 
and  Mexico.  Fort  Pickens  and  Fort  Jefferson  are  also  among  the  guesses. 

I  had  intended  to  leave  for  Washington  next  Thursday,  but  now  the 
enterprise  will  take  larger  proportions.  If  it  is  intended  to  make  all 
arrangements  for  a  state  of  war  I  ought  to  remain  longer.  I  know  what  is 
necessary,  and  yesterday  I  wrote  to  the  general  what  I  had  done.  Shall  I 
wait  here  to  get  news  of  the  first  \Aovf  from  our  own  people? 

I  have  suspended  work  to-day  and  spent  the  time  bewailing  the  fall  of 
Fort  Sumter  and  the  loss  of  much  labor.  Of  course  the  storm  has  dis 
persed  the  ships,  and  they  cannot  be  heard  from  in  less  than  a  week,  and  I 
have  the  credit  of  having  worked  hard  for  defeat. 

I  am,  etc., 

E.  D.  KEYES, 
Lieutenant- Colonel  U.  S.  Army,  Military  Secretary. 

P.S. — Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  seen  Mr.  Aspinwall,  who  says  the 


398  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

11  Baltic"  will  be  here  on  Wednesday  evening,  and  that  she  is  chartered  by 
the  month.  Shall  I  load  her  here  for  the  South?  May  she  not  be  in  Nor 
folk  ?  There  is  an  agency  here  for  the  Armstrong  guns,  and  in  six  weeks 
we  could  have  some  here.  Captain  Kingsbury,  of  the  Ordnance  Office,  is  a 
perfectly  competent  and  reliable  officer  in  his  department.  He  is  something 
of  a  genius. 

A  Mr.  J.  Dow  Williamson  has  just  left  me.  Says  he  was  in  Pensacola 
on  the  8th  instant.  Says  also,  the  batteries  to  the  right  and  left  of  Fort 
Burancas  are  mounted  with  wooden  guns,  and  that  Bragg  is  concentrating  his 
forces  in  the  live  oak  groves  across  the  Bay,  to  the  east  of  the  town,  and  is 
building  rafts  upon  which  to  cross  to  Santa  Rosa  Island. 

If  Vogdes'  company  has  landed,  I  think  they  may  hold  out,  and  I  have 
shipped  the  exact  battery  for  that  point  which  defends  the  landing  on  the 
island.  I  have  heard,  but  not  trusted,  this  man. 

I  should  like  to  go  on  with  the  "Baltic,"  for  if  Brown,  Meigs,  and  myself 
are  Fort  Sumterized,  it  ought  to,  and  I  trust  will,  kill  us  all. 

I  hope  to  finish  loading  the  "  Philadelphia  "  to-morrow  night.  I  could 
not  store  ordnance  supplies  and  forage  in  the  rain  on  Saturday,  and  I  would 
not  work  on  Sunday,  as  it  would  have  betrayed  my  secret.  The  "  Baltic  " 
ought  to  take  more  troops. 

Respectfully,  etc., 

E.  D.  KEYES, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  U.S.  Army,  Military  Secretary. 

The  style  and  jumble  of  the  foregoing  letter  perpetu 
ates  the  feeling  of  rage  and  despair  which  possessed  me 
when  I  heard  that  Fort  Sumter  had  fallen.  The  fall  it 
self  was  less  than  the  cowardice  and  imbecility  at  Wash 
ington  which  preceded  it,  and  was  nothing  compared 
with  the  suffering  and  blood  which  were  subsequently  re 
quired  to  regain  the  fort  and  place.  It  cost  the  life  of 
Chatfield,  whose  valor  I  witnessed  at  the  first  battle  of 
Bull  Run,  when  we  charged  up  the  hill  side  by  side  in 
the  line  of  file-closers.  His  courage  shone  with  equal 
brightness  in  the  last  fatal  act  of  his  life,  when  he  was 
killed  in  an  assault.  He  was  one  who  fought  calmly  and 
with  no  succeding  display  of  vanity.  If  he  hoped  for 
recognition,  no  one  knew  or  knows  it. 

Mr.  Seward  wrote  me  a  note  in  reply  to  the   above 


Letter  to  Col.  Townsend.  399 

letter,  which  I  do  not  find  among  my  papers.  Mr. 
Cameron  disliked  his  officiousness  in  this  matter,  and  for 
that  reason  Mr.  Seward  requested  me  to  address  my 
future  communications  to  the  War  Department. 

In  my  letter  of  instruction  to  Captain  Kitteridge  com 
manding  the  "  Philadelphia,"  I  observed  the  following 
paragraph : 

Should  you  find  yourself  in  danger  of  capture  by  the  seceders,  you  will 
do  all  in  your  power  to  escape,  and  rather  than  allow  your  ship  to  fall  into 
their  hands,  you  will  set  fire  to  her,  take  to  your  boats,  and  report  that  she  is 
loaded  with  gunpowder. 

My  next  letter  was  to  Colonel  Townsend,  Adjutant- 
General  : 

NEW  YORK,  Aptil  18,  1861. 
Colonel  E.  D.  Tovmsend,  Assistant  Adjutant-General,  Washington,  JD.C. 

COLONEL: — The  "Philadelphia"  is  now  about  loaded.  A  little  more 
lumber,  the  mules,  beef  cattle,  and  150  barrels  of  powder  and  some  imple 
ments  are  all  that  remain  to  go  on  board. 

We  have  had  three  rainy  days,  and  it  would  not  do  to  wet  the  forage. 
The  handling  of  the  siege  train  and  the  stowing  were  necessarily  very  slow. 

I  have  sent  down  launches  from  the  Navy  Yard.  I  examined  there  the 
means  and  appliances  which  our  people  will  have  at  hand  to  land  the  heavy 
ordnance,  and  obtained  from  a  naval  officer  written  instructions  and  dia 
grams  to  show  the  manner  of  using  them.  The  three  steam  vessels  carried 
twenty-four  cannon  with  their  carriages,  with  all  necessary  appliances,  and 
upward  of  six  months'  provisions  for  the  men,  and  about  three  months' 
forage,  with  an  abundance  of  shelter  and  clothing.  I  must  examine  all  in 
voices  to  see  what  has  gone.  General  Scott  will  understand  the  immense 
labor  I  have  had  to  perform,  and  I  trust  you  will  let  him  know  how  uneasy 
I  feel  at  being  here,  while  he  has  such  burdens  on  his  shoulders. 

If  you  think  the  general  would  prefer  I  should  join  him  before  completing 
the  business  here,  let  me  know  by  telegraph,  and  I  will  set  out  Saturday 
morning.  If  not,  I  shall  start  Monday  morning. 

I  am,  sir,  etc., 

E.  D.  KEYES, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  U.S.  Army,  Military  Secretary. 

I  receive  no  answer  to  the  above  letter,  and  no  letter 
from  General  Scott.  The  silence  was  ominous,  and  indi- 


400  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

cated  that  I  was  laying  up  in  store  some  kind  of  disap 
proval* 

On  the  1 8th  of  April  I  wrote  to  Colonel  Harvey 
Brown,  the  commander  of  the  expedition.  The  greater 
portion  of  the  letter  consists  in  statements  already 
given,  and  which  I  omit.  The  conclusion  of  the  letter 
was  as  follows : 

We  worked  so  harmoniously  together  here  that  I  will  speak  freely  to 
you.  The  war  has  commenced  in  earnest.  Fort  Sumter,  after  being  girt 
without  opposition  by  batteries,  and  insulted  during  four  months,  has 
fallen  of  course. 

Fort  Pickens  has  been  long  menaced  and  insulted  under  an  armistice 
which  has  only  bound  our  people,  and  perhaps  will  be  in  the  hands  of 
the  enemy  when  you  arrive.  The  time  for  moralizing  it  appears  to  me 
has  passed,  and  I  trust  you  will  consider  that  to  stick  a  spade  in  the 
sand  is  to  begin  the  fight,  and  that  you  will  rain  a  shower  of  iron  upon 
the  rebellious  workers  who  menace  you. 

I  remain,  etc., 

E.  D.  KEYES, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  U.  S.  Army,  Military  Secretary. 

From  my  letter  to  Captain  Meigs  of  April  19,  1861, 
I  omit  the  details  contained  in  the  first  portion.  The 
other  parts  contained  prophecies  that  were  subse 
quently  verified  to  the  letter.  I  wrote  as  follows : 

The  war  will  soon  commence  in  earnest.  75,ooo  troops  have  been  called 
for  by  the  President,  and  more  will  be  needed.  Virginia  has  seceded, 
and  North  Carolina,  Tennessee  and  Arkansas  will  immediately  follow. 
Maryland  may  remain,  as  the  white  laborers  menace  the  lovers  of  slaves. 
Missouri  is  doubtful.  Perhaps  there  will  be  a  fight  there,  but  all  the 
other  slave  States  will  go  as  a  unit,  except  that  Western  Virginia  may 
hang  back.  - 

******* 

In  such  a  state  of  things  it  is  all  important  that  you  should  be  here,  and 
if  you  can  make  a  little  capital  where  you  are,  hasten  on.  I  will  enhance 
your  exploits  and  capacity,  and  when  you  return,  I  trust  we  may  work  to* 
gether  for  the  common  cause  and  for  one  another. 

One  thing  I  trust  you  and  Colonel  Brown  will  not  lose  sight  of  for  a 
moment.  That  is,  the  necessity  of  having  true  men  in  charge  of  the  Southern 


Return  to  Washington.  401 

or  Gulf  forts.     A  heavy  hand  should  fall  at  once  upon  all  such  as  sympa 
thize  with  the  rebels. 

If  we  had  had  vigorous  minds  at  the  head  of  affairs  six  months  ago  the 
serpent  might  have  been  crushed  in  the  shell.  Even  now  I  must  venture  on 
one  sad  prediction.  It  is  this — at  least  one  hundred  tons  of  blood  must  be 
drawn  from  Northern  veins,  before  Northern  men  will  cease  to  heed  the 
admonitions  and  to  stand  in  awe  of  Southerners,  and  before  they  will  cease 
to  abide  by  the  Constitution  and  laws  which  are  not,  and  seldom  have  been, 
a  bar  to  them. 

It  would  be  as  unwise  for  us  to  act  as  to  forbear  the  act,  upon  the  sup 
position  that  the  rebels  have  any  feeling  for  us  but  scorn,  as  it  would  be  to 
suppose  the  tiger  in  the  jungle  has  pity. 

The  seceders  having  stolen  nearly  all  the  best  arms  and  learned  the  use 
of  them,  while  we  have  been  moralizing,  I  anticipate  frightful  havoc  among 
our  Northern  levies.  The  North,  however,  is  [nearly]  a  unit  [?]  and  if 
necessary,  500,000  men  will  be  forthcoming.  Two  Massachusetts  regi 
ments  have  passed  on,  and  they  are  thirsting  for  vengeance.  No  horror 
will  surprise  me,  though  I  will  do  nothing  that  is  not  warranted  by  civilized 
warfare. 

Many  of  our  people,  I  know,  would  like  to  imitate  in  the  South  the  con 
duct  of  Hyder  AH  in  the  Carnatic. 

Callum  has  been  appointed  A.  D.  C.  to  General  Scott,  and  for  that 
reason  I  stay  here  to  finish. 

In  haste,  your  friend, 

E.  D.  KEYES, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  U.  S.  Army. 

On  receiving  news  of  the  arrival  of  Brown  and  Meigs 
at  Fort  Pickens  in  time  to  secure  it,  and  to  surprise 
Bragg,  I  prepared  to  return  to  Washington.  Mean 
time,  that  city  being  threatened  by  the  rebels,  I  was 
invited  by  General  Sanford,  of  the  New  York  State 
Militia,  to  go  with  volunteers  from  that  State,  over 
whom  he  gave  me  authority,  as  did  Governor  Sprague 
of  Rhode  Island  over  a  regiment  from  his  State. 

The  transports  "Baltic,"  "  R.  R.  Cuyler,"  "Coatza- 
coalcos,"  and  "  Columbia,"  having  on  board  the  6th, 
1 2th  and  7 1st  regiments  of  New  York  Volunteers,  and 
the  first  Rhode  Island  Regiment  under  Colonel  Burn- 


4O2  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

side,  convoyed  by  the  "  Harriet  Lane,"  left  New  York 
April  21,  1 86 1,  to  rendezvous  at  Hampton  Roads.  I 
embarked  in  the  "Baltic"  with  Colonel  Daniel  Butter- 
field's  regiment.  We  arrived  and  anchored  off  Fort 
Monroe  at  4  P.M.,  April  22.  Colonel  Dimmick,  the  com 
mander,  came  on  board  and  gave  me  a  detailed  list  of 
the  things  needed  to  place  the  fort  in  a  condition  fit 
for  defence.  The  present  armament,  as  that  brave  and 
patriotic  old  soldier  described  it,  was  -wretchedly  dilapi 
dated,  and  I  lost  not  a  moment  in  writing  a  full  state 
ment  of  the  information  derived  from  him  to  General 
Scott.  It  was  desirable  to  proceed  to  Washington  via 
the  Potomac  River,  but  the  captains  of  the  largest  ships 
decided  that  stream  was  too  shallow,  and  I  ordered  the 
convoy  to  proceed  to  Annapolis,  where  it  arrived  and 
anchored  on  the  morning  of  the  23d.  As  soon  as  prepa 
rations  could  be  made  for  the  march,  I  ordered  the  troops 
to  advance  for  the  capital,  and  renounced  my  authority 
over  them. 

General  Benjamin  F.  Butler  was  in  command  at  An 
napolis,  and  to  him  on  landing  I  offered  my  services.  I 
had  never  met  that  gentleman  before,  and  although  he 
was  at  the  time  a  prominent  politician,  I  had  not  felt 
interest  enough  in  him  to  watch  his  proceedings.  He 
invited  me  to  his  mess,  and  after  being  in  constant  com 
munication  with  him  six  days  I  saw  plainly  that  he  pos 
sessed  phenomenal  activity  and  persistence  of  brain 
power,  and  that  he  considered  himself  fit  to  be  the  leader 
in  all  the  pursuits,  callings,  professions  and  occupation 
of  men  whether  he  had  studied  them  or  not.  At  this 
time  I  am  not  inclined  to  work  out  and  condense  upon  a 
single  page  a  formula  which  would  embrace  all  the  traits 
of  his  character,  all  his  labors,  aspirations,  schemes  and 
achievements,  but  I  will  give  an  anecdote  of  another  man 


General  Butler.  403 

which  will  set  off  in  part  the  disposition  of  General  But 
ler. 

Several  years  before  the  war  I  met  in  the  cars,  going 
from  New  York  to  Washington,  a  New  Jersey  man  who  had 
invented  a  salt-boiling  apparatus  which  he  thought  would 
prove  efficient  and  economical.  The  man  told  me  he 
had  applied  for  a  patent,  and  that  he  was  on  his  way  to 
see  Senator  Benton,  who  at  that  time  was  making 
speeches  upon  the  subject  of  salt,  its  domestic  and  in 
dustrial  uses,  its  value  as  a  fertilizer,  etc.,  etc. 

It  may  be  remarked,  in  addition  to  what  I  have  already 
said  of  him,  that  of  all  the  men  I  ever  saw  sitting  in  the 
upper  house  of  Congress  not  one  so  completely  filled  my 
idea  of  a  Roman  Senator  as  Thomas  Hart  Benton.  I 
admired  the  ponderous  majesty  of  his  presence,  and  list 
ened  with  admiration  to  his  surcharged  arguments,  none 
of  which  were  derived  from  Mrs.  Grundy  nor  from  Caleb 
Quotem. 

The  inventor,  who  was  a  man  of  faint  complexion  and 
feeble  tissues,  armed  with  a  proper  introduction,  found 
himself  confronted  with  the  august  Missouri  Senator. 
He  was  permitted  simply  to  say  he  had  invented  a  salt 
boiling  apparatus,  and  then  Mr.  Benton  commenced  a 
dissertation  upon  salt,  beginning  with  Lot's  wife  and 
coming  down  to  the  present  time.  He  spoke  nearly  an 
hour,  and  concluded  with  a  "  Good-morning,  sir ! "  that 
frightened  the  Jerseyman,  who  left  without  a  word 
about  his  invention. 

The  above  anecdote  illustrates  one  phase  of  General 
Butler's  character  only.  Unlike  the  senator,  the  general 
would  have  heard  a  description  of  the  invention,  pro 
vided  that  neither  his  interest,  his  vanity,  nor  his  am 
bition  was  concerned  in  it. 

I  must  add  a  word  more  about  General  Butler,  although 


404  Fifty   Years'  Observation. 

I  have  greater  reason  to  hate  than  to  like  him.  At 
heart  he  would  have  fame,  in  default  of  which  he  is 
content  with  notoriety  at  the  expense  of  abuse  and 
slander.  Weighed  in  the  balance  his  virtues  turn  the 
scale  against  his  faults,  one  of  which  his  accusers  call 
obstinacy.  I  think  it  should  be  called  perverseness, 
which  is  locomotive  obstinacy.  He  showed  masterly 
vigor  and  judgment  in  anticipation  of  the  capture  of 
New  Orleans,  and  his  subsequent  labors  as  governor  of 
that  city  in  its  police  and  assaignissment,  as  well  as  in  the 
proper  treatment  of  the  rebels,  male  and  female,  entitle 
him  to  be  called  a  model  city  governor  and  to  as  much 
praise  as  any  man  occupying  his  position  could  have 
gained. 

General  Scott  had  sent  several  messengers,  some  of 
whom  were  intercepted,  but  one  who  came  through 
brought  me  a  letter  the  contents  of  which  I  did  not  an 
ticipate,  and  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy: 

WASHINGTON,  April  19,  1861. 

SIR  : — Considering  that  you  recently  left  me  on  a  mission  without  my 
suggestion  or  special  consent,  and  considering  that  in  our  late  official  con 
nection  I  several  times  found  it  necessary  to  suppress  acts  of  rudeness  on 
your  part,  and  considering  that,  after  the  high  functions  you  have  recently 
executed,  I  should  find  it  still  more  difficult  to  restrain  your  temper,  I 
think  it  necessary  to  terminate  our  official  connection  without  further  corre 
spondence  or  irritation. 

I  enclose  a  letter  this  moment  received  from  his  excellency  the  Governor 
of  New  York,  together  with  my  reply,  which  you  can  either  use  or  return  to 
me  as  you  may  think  proper. 

Wishing  you  and  yours  all  happiness, 

I  remain  with  much  respect, 
Yours, 

[Signed]  WINFIELD  SCOTT. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  JS.  D.  Keyes,  U.  S.  Army. 

The  duty  I  had  recently  performed  in  New  York,  where 
there  was  no  commander  present  to  supervise  me,  was  so 


End  of  My  Secretaryship.  405 

agreeable  that  I  did  not  much  regret  the  loss  of  my  sec 
retaryship,  which  had  during  the  past  winter  not  only  re 
quired  from  me  a  perpetual  attention  and  unremitted 
labor,  but  it  also  subjected  me  sometimes  to  the  whims 
and  caprices  of  a  superior.  Moreover  in  the  sectional 
strife  which  then  raged  with  such  savage  bitterness,  my 
Northern  sentiments,  which  I  did  not  think  it  right  to 
conceal,  could  not  fail  on  frequent  occasions  to  wound 
the  susceptibilities  of  my  chief.  And  although  he  had 
treated  me  with  uniform  kindness,  and  only  one  alterca 
tion  had  marred  the  harmony  of  our  association,  it  was 
evident  to  me  that  its  warmth  was  subsiding.  Neverthe 
less,  the  duty  I  had  so  successfully  performed,  and  which 
resulted  in  depriving  the  rebels  of  a  port  and  navy  yard 
of  vast  importance  to  them,  I  imagined  entitled  me  to 
a  respectful  recognition  from  my  superiors. 

Although  I  intended  to  accept  service  with  Governor 
Morgan,  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  report  in  person  to  the 
President  and  Mr.  Seward,  from  whom  I  had  received  my 
instructions.  They  were  in  earnest  and  thanked  me 
warmly  for  what  I  had  done.  I  was  also  cordially  received 
by  Mr.  Cameron,  Secretary  of  War,  and  Mr.  Chase,  Sec 
retary  of  the  Treasury,  who  invited  me  to  breakfast,  and 
by  Professor  Bache  and  many  others.  When  I  called  on 
General  Scott  he  declined  to  receive  me,  and  I  left  his 
antechamber  without  showing  anger  to  Colonel  Town- 
send,  who  brought  me  the  repellant  message. 

I  was  ignorant  at  the  time  of  the  opinion  entertained 
by  Townsend  of  the  cause  of  General  Scott's  refusal  to  see 
me,  and  only  learned  it  about  three  years  ago  from 
Townsend's  own  lips.  He  had  for  twenty  years  cherished 
the  idea  that  I  had  gone  away  without  notice  from 
General  Scott  to  place  myself  in  correspondence  with  the 
President  and  Mr.  Seward  to  reinforce  Fort  Pickens.  I 


406  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

have  already  related  how  I  told  the  President  that  I  was 
General  Scott's  secretary,  and  that  he  would  be  offended 
if  I  did  not  first  notify  him  of  what  I  was  doing.  Where 
upon  Mr.  Lincoln  ordered  me  to  read  my  propositions, 
which  I  did,  and  then  without  a  moment's  delay  I  re 
ported  fully  to  my  chief  all  that  had  happened.  The 
President  had  a  perfect  right  to  give  me  the  order,  which 
was  in  no  way  improper ;  I  was  absolutely  bound  to  obey 
the  President,  and  if  I  had  refused  his  dignity  would  have 
enforced  him  to  dismiss  me  from  the  army  on  the  spot. 
General  Scott  denied  himself  to  Meigs  also  on  his  return. 

General  Cullum,  who  succeeded  to  my  place  on  the 
staff,  entertained  a  similar  opinion,  and  was  equally  mis 
taken  with  Colonel  Townsend.  It  was  General  Scott's 
wounded  vanity  which  swayed  his  feelings  towards  Meigs 
and  me,  and  colored  the  impressions  he  communicated  to 
his  attendants.  If  I  had  been  guilty  of  the  slightest  treach 
ery  or  disrespect  to  my  chief,  they  would  have  been  justi 
fied  in  condemning  me,  and  the  mistake  they  both  made 
has  caused  in  me  no  feeling  of  resentment  for  either  one 
of  them ;  on  the  contrary,  my  strong  friendship  for  both 
remains  unchanged. 

Townsend,  during  the  whole  war  of  the  rebellion,  and  for 
fifteen  years  after  its  close,  held  the  important  office  of 
Adjutant  of  the  Army.  He  performed  his  vast  labors  with 
ability,  without  spite  or  prejudice,  and  is  one  of  the  most 
conscientious  and  amiable  of  men. 

My  irritation  against  my  former  chief  continued  several 
years,  but  it  gradually  subsided,  and  was  finally  ex 
tinguished  by  an  incident  which  I  will  relate  in  its  proper 
place.  I  often  spoke  of  his  tyrannical  conduct  towards 
Northern  officers,  and  referred  to  his  having  quarrelled 
with  Worth  and  Temple,  who  had  formerly  served  on  his 
staff.  They  were  both  Northern  men,  and  had  no  superi- 


Governor  Morgan.  407 

ors  in  the  army  for  gallantry  and  accomplishments.  I  was 
unable  to  discover  a  more  tenable  reason  for  his  quarrel 
with  either  of  those  meritorious  officers  than  with  me.  In 
a  conversation  with  Assistant  Adjutant- General  Baird, 
shortly  after  my  discharge,  he  one  day  said  to  me,  "  All 
General  Scott's  sentiments  are  Southern,  and  towards 
Northern  officers  he  has  always  been  a  most  oppressive 
tyrant."  It  is  true  the  general's  birth  and  breeding  made 
him  necessarily  partial  to  officers  of  Southern  birth,  and 
he  was  wholly  unconscious  of  his  frequent  harsh  de 
meanor  towards  those  from  the  North.  He  would  have 
considered  it  a  gross  insult  to  have  accused  him  of  official 
tyranny  of  any  kind.  I  always  felt  far  less  hurt  by  his 
partiality  for  his  own  section  than  by  the  uniform  indiffer 
ence  and  neglect  of  Northern  functionaries  in  regard  to 
all  natives  of  the  North  who  were  in  the  army  and  navy. 
Nearly  every  benefit  I  ever  enjoyed  in  the  service  I  owed 
to  a  Southern  man. 

The  application  from  Governor  Morgan  of  New  York 
was  for  an  officer  to  assist  him  in  organizing  the  \olun- 
teers  of  his  State  for  the  approaching  civil  war.  I  was 
glad  to  find  myself  selected  for  a  task  of  such  distinction, 
and  on  the  2d  day  of  May,  1861,  I  reported  for  duty  to 
the  governor  at  Albany.  After  twenty  days  I  left  him 
with  the  satisfaction  that  I  had  gained  the  approval  of  a 
most  worthy  and  patriotic  gentleman.  At  the  close  of 
our  relations,  Governor  Morgan  addressed  to  me  the  fol 
lowing  note.  I  had  notified  the  governor  that  I  had 
finished  the  business  for  which  I  joined. 

STATE  OF  NEW  YORK,  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT,  ) 
ALBANY,  May  22,  1861.          ) 

COLONEL  : — While  heartily  regretting,  for  reasons  personal  to  myself, 
the  necessity  which  severs  our  official  relations,  I  cannot  but  congratulate 
the  military  authorities  in  securing  the  talent  and  experience  possessed  by 
yourself  to  the  public  service. 

In  terminating  formally,  as  it  becomes  my  duty  under  the  circumstances, 


4°S  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

and  as  I  hereby  do,  the  connection  established  by  General  Scott's  orders  on 
the  igth  April,  allow  me  to  express  my  thanks  for  the  invaluable  services 
you  have  rendered  me  and  the  State  in  the  organization  and  despatch  of  the 
quotas  of  troops  forwarded  by  this  State  on  the  requisition  of  the  General 
Government.  I  am  very  respectfully  yours, 

[Signed]     E.  D.  MORGAN. 
Colonel  E.  Z>.  Keyes,  U.  S.  Army 

The  luxury  of  serving  under  a  commander  who  did  not 
feel  himself  degraded  when  I  told  him  what  I  had  learned 
in  the  army  was  so  exquisite  that  I  craved  no  additional 
reward  for  what  I  had  done  for  Governor  Morgan.  I 
thought  my  services  over-estimated,  as  they  consisted 
chiefly  in  giving  him  the  details  of  the  organization  of 
companies  and  regiments,  the  care  of  arms,  ammunition 
and  accoutrements,  the  selection  and  police  of  camps, 
the  necessity  of  vigilance  and  impartiality  on  the  part  of 
officers,  and  of  prompt  obedience  to  orders  by  every  one, 
etc.,  etc.  I  took  special  pains  to  show  the  necessity  of 
guarding  against  the  tricks  of  contractors  and  their  in 
numerable  devices  to  cheat  the  Government  and  wrong 
the  soldier.  On  a  certain  day  I  was  called  to  inspect  a 
lot  of  specimen  shoes.  I  think  there  were  five.  One  of 
the  shoes  presented  such  a  nice  substantial  appearance 
that  it  secured  favor  from  the  other  inspectors,  and  my 
opinion  was  asked.  Before  deciding  I  had  the  shoe  cut 
entirely  open  longitudinally.  The  sole  was  found  to  be 
welted  all  around,  and  a  slip  of  wood  beneath  a  shaving 
of  leather  gave  it  solidity.  Such  a  shoe  at  the  end  of  one 
day's  march  over  the  muddy  roads  of  Virginia  would 
have  gone  to  pieces,  and  the  patriotic  foot  of  a  volunteer 
would  have  touched  mother  earth.  The  sordid  contractor 
who  presented  that  shoe  deserved  to  be  shut  up  in  prison 
and  kept  there  until  the  end  of  the  war.  It  is  not  im 
probable,  however,  that  he  is  now  playing  the  snob  in  a 
palace.  His  audacious  attempt  at  robbery,  as  the  times 
go,  promised  success  and  a  gross  fortune. 


Chester  A.  Arthur. — J.  Meredith  Read.         409 

It  was  never  my  good  luck  to  labor  with  a  more  agree 
able  company  than  when  I  was  in  the  staff  of  Governor 
Morgan,  of  New  York.  He  was  a  genuine  patriot  and  a 
man  of  the  kind  that  constitutes  the  true  riches  of  a 
State.  It  was  composed  of  Mr.  Chester  A.  Arthur,  who 
is  now  President,  Mr.  J.  Meredith  Read,  since  succes 
sively  Consul-General  in  France  and  United  States  Min 
ister  to  Greece,  and  Massena  R.  Patrick,  a  graduate  of  the 
Military  Academy,  and  at  present  Superintendent  of  the 
Soldiers'  Home  in  Ohio. 

Mr.  Arthur  was  remarkable  for  method  and  neatness. 
Like  his  chief,  he  showed  no  signs  of  egotism,  and  seemed 
intent  only  to  execute  his  tasks  promptly  and  well.  Mr. 
Read,  with  whom  in  Europe  I  have  since  maintained 
correspondence  and  social  intimacy,  was  also  a  diligent 
worker,  but  in  his  demeanor  worldly  ambition  was  ap 
parent.  He  is  of  high  birth,  and  his  coat  of  arms  is  seen 
upon  his  note-paper.  I  heard  an  Englishman  ask  the 
question :  "  What  does  the  Prince  of  Wales  find  in  that 
American,  to  be  always  with  him  or  writing  to  him  ? " 
Read  remained  in  Paris  throughout  the  siege  of  1871 
and  collected  an  immense  mass  of  details  concerning  it. 
He  also  recorded  his  observations  upon  Greece,  which 
are  highly  interesting.  On  several  occasions  I  heard 
learned  Frenchmen  speak  admiringly  of  Read's  ability 
and  industry  as  well  as  in  praise  of  his  social  qualities. 
Notwithstanding  Read  is  aristocratic  and  fanciful,  he 
is  not  snobbish,  and  among  my  most  cherished  friends  I 
regard  him  as  one  of  the  most  amiable  and  the  least  selfish. 
When  I  was  last  in  Paris  Read  arrived  there  as  I  was  on 
the  point  of  leaving.  I  asked  him  if  he  was  alone.  "  No," 
said  he,  "  I  came  with  the  King  of  Greece." 

Patrick  was  a  most  worthy  man,  and  I  he  genius  of 
utility. 

18 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Arrival  of  Lincoln  at  Washington. — Caricatures. — Threatening  letters. — 
Dinner  with  Stan  ton. — The  retiring  President. — The  inauguration  of 
Lincoln.— Visit  to  New  York.— Scott's  letter  to  Texas.— Anecdotes  of 
Lincoln. — Farewell  speeches  of  Benjamin  and  Davis. 

"WASHINGTON,  February  22,   1861. 

MR.  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  the  President-elect  of 
the  United   States,   arrived   in  Washington  this 
morning   before   daybreak.     He   disguised   himself    and 
stole  a  march  on  those  who  anticipated  his  coming  in  the 
afternoon." 

The  second  day  after  his  arrival  a  caricature  appeared 
representing  "  Old  Abe,"  crouched  in  a  large  safe,  of  which 
the  door  was  open.  At  his  feet  lay  a  maul,  and  an  axe 
stood  by  his  side.  His  meagreness  and  length  of  limb 
were  exaggerated,  but  the  likeness  of  his  face  and  person 
was  unmistakable.  Such  was  the  manner  of  his  ingress  to 
the  capital,  and  the  symbolized  appearance  of  one  of  the 
mightiest  figures  of  modern  history. 

"WASHINGTON,  February  25. 

"  Numerous  letters  arriving  in  the  daily  mails  contain 
threats  to  assassinate  General  Scott.  He  assumes  an  in 
difference  to  the  threats,  but  he  shows  the  letters  to  great 
numbers  of  people,  and  wonders  at  their  calmness.  Last 
night  he  exhibited  some  of  the  letters  at  Mr.  Crittenden's 
rooms  in  the  National  Hotel,  and  this  morning  when 
alone  with  me  he  commented  on  the  imperturbability  of 


Secretary  Stanton.  411 

his  auditors.  He  ended  by  saying  he  could  see  the  sel 
fishness  of  mankind  in  everything.  I  told  him  I  thought 
mankind  sympathized  as  much  with  him  as  with  any  man 
of  my  acquaintance.  The  general  sent  word  for  me  last 
night  and  a  week  ago  to  come  down  to  Mr.  Crittenden's 
quarters  and  walk  home  with  him.  I  trust  the  assassins 
will  not  pass  their  rapiers  through  me." 

"February  26. 

"  Last  night  Mr.  Stanton,  the  Attorney-General,  dined 
with  me.  He  is  a  man  of  vast  attainments  as  a  lawyer, 
with  an  extraordinary  capacity  for  labor. 

"  He  is  a  Union  man,  though  he  is  one  of  President 
Buchanan's  Cabinet." 

Upon  a  more  matured  and  intimate  acquaintance  with 
Mr.  Stanton,  after  he  became  Secretary  of  War,  under 
Mr.  Lincoln,  I  found  no  cause  to  change  my  first  impres 
sions  of  his  talents  and  industry.  I  discovered,  also,  that 
he  was  subject  to  violent  impulses,  and  that  occasionally 
he  would  decide  upon  insufficient  evidence  and  some 
times  with  gross  injustice. 

One  trifling  incident  will  show  my  meaning :  While  I 
was  in  command  of  an  extensive  section  of  the  defences 
of  Washington  city,  I  gave  orders  to  Colonel  Birney,  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  to  proceed  with  his  regi 
ment  and  occupy  a  redoubt  which  had  recently  been 
erected.  Three  hours  later,  a  messenger  from  Mr.  Stan- 
ton  arrived  at  my  headquarters  with  a  note,  ordering  me 
in  precise  terms  to  remove  the  soldiers  instantly  from  the 

house  and  grounds  of  Mr. ,  who,  I  was  informed, 

was  a  violent  Secessionist.  My  horse  being  at  the  door, 
I  lost  not  a  moment,  and  on  my  arrival  at  the  house  indi 
cated  I  found  it  and  its  inclosure  vacant.  I  kept  on,  and 
upon  consultation  with  Colonel  Birney,  he  informed  me  that 
while  on  the  march  a  soldier  fainted  in  the  ranks,  and  as 


412  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

it  was  raining  hard  he  was  carried  in  and  laid  on  the 
porch  of  a  vacant  house  that  stood  near,  and  left  with  a 
couple  of  soldiers  till  an  ambulance  could  be  sent  for  to 
take  him  to  the  hospital.  The  fainting  man  was  not  upon 
the  premises  above  half  an  hour,  but  he  was  seen  by  the 
rebel,  who  considered  his  house  defiled  by  the  touch  of 
a  defender  of  the  Union,  and  he  represented  the  intru 
sion  to  Mr.  Stanton  as  a  violent  trespass  and  outrage. 

Mr.  Stanton  was  accused  of  many  hasty  decisions,  one 
of  which  resulted,  in  my  case,  in  a  monstrous  injustice. 
He  punished  me  ruinously,  upon  a  report,  without  inves 
tigation,  and  to  this  day  I  am  ignorant  of  the  fault  he 
imputed  to  me.  I  have  always  considered  that  I  was  a 
scapegoat.  The  blows  he  let  fall  on  me  set  loose  a 
hideous  brood  of  misfortunes,  which  would  have  killed 
me  if  they  had  not  stunned  me  and  benumbed  my  faculties. 

"  To-day,  Mr.  Hannibal  Hamlin,  Vice-President  elect, 
came  with  a  number  of  other  gentlemen,  mostly  from  the 
State  of  Maine,  to  pay  their  respects  to  General  Scott. 
Frequently  during  the  winter  the  general  was  the  recipient 
of  similar  marks  of  respect  and  confidence.  On  one  oc 
casion  an  incident  occurred  which  was  attended  with  a 
curious  excitement.  Mr.  Weir,  the  professor  of  drawing 
at  the  Military  Academy,  being  on  a  visit  to  Washington, 
I  invited  him  to  dine  with  us.  I  told  Cruchett  in  the 
morning  that  General  Scott  and  I  loved  Mr.  Weir,  and 
desired  to  give  him  a  good  dinner,  and  he  promised  to 
do  his  best.  As  it  happened,  both  the  general  and  my 
self  had  recently  laid  in  a  stock  of  wines  of  various 
brands,  and  we  had  out  specimens  of  every  kind.  Cruchett 
had  also  clustered  upon  a  vacant  corner  of  the  table 
numerous  jugs,  flasks,  decanters  and  black  bottles  con 
taining  Eau  de  vie,  Kirchwasser,  Curagoa,  Maraschino, 


Scott  and  His   Visitors.  413 

Chartreuse,  old  Bourbon  and  other  like  tokens  of  depraved 
taste  and  lax  morality.  All  these  indicated  that  we  were 
the  slaves  of  drink  and  devotees  to  gluttonous  delights. 
When  our  feast  was  well  advanced,  and  while  we  sat 
tasting  and  comparing  the  wines  from  our  numerous 
glasses,  a  thundering  knock  at  the  door  and  a  loud  ring 
ing  at  the  bell  announced  the  arrival  of  an  important 
company,  and  the  clatter  of  many  feet  was  heard.  '  My 
God ! '  exclaimed  the  general,  '  these  bottles !  I  am 
a  disgraced  man  !  bring  me  a  pistol  and  let  me  blow 
my  brains  out !  Keep  them  back,  David  ! '  It  was  a 
desperate  emergency.  I  said  to  our  guest,  *  Let  us  clear 
the  table ! '  So,  gathering  up  as  many  bottles  and  glasses 
as  I  could  hold,  I  rushed  into  the  general's  bedroom, 
which  adjoined,  hid  them  behind  the  bed,  and  returned 
for  more  again  and  again.  Weir  helped  with  all  his  might, 
while  David  delayed  entrance  by  clanking  the  chain  at 
tached  to  the  door  and  shoving  the  bolts,  as  if  he  were 
opening  a  cage  of  wild  beasts.  In  this  way  we  had  time 
to  clear  the  table  of  everything  excepting  one  pint  claret 
bottle  that  was  half  full,  a  few  plates,  crusts  of  bread  and 
ribs  of  lamb  cleanly  picked, and  when  the  first  man  of  the  nu 
merous  delegation  from  one  of  the  western  States  entered 
the  room,  he  saw  nothing  that  he  might  not  expect  to 
see  in  a  city  during  the  last  days  of  a  siege.  While  this 
preparation  was  being  made  by  Mr.  Weir  and  me,  the 
general  quickly  subsided  from  clamor  to  silence,  from 
agitation  to  quiet,  his  face  cleared  up,  and  he  posed  for 
audience.  I  verily  believe  that  old  Father  Abraham 
when  he  fetched  the  centenarian  worshipper  of  the  sun 
into  his  tent  to  give  him  wise  instruction  and  hospitable 
entertainment,  could  not  have  presented  a  more  majestic 
picture  of  calmness  and  dignity  than  did  my  venerable 
chief  on  this  occasion. 


Fifty  Years    Observation. 

11  The  delegates  came  in  and  arranged  themselves  com 
pactly  around  him,  like  penitents  who  gather  near  a  holy 
shrine.  The  foreman,  in  a  few  broken  sentences,  pro 
claimed  his  admiration  for  the  aged  hero,  and  begged  his 
counsel  for  guidance  through  the  perils  that  harassed  the 
country.  In  reply  the  general  acknowledged  the  honor 
done  him,  and  then  he  proceeded  in  that  low,  soft  voice 
which  characterized  his  conversations  on  important  sub 
jects,  to  describe  the  national  troubles  and  their  causes. 
He  inculcated  good  temper,  caution  and  firmness,  and 
gave  hopes  that  the  agitations  might  cease  without  blood 
shed,  which  he  greatly  deprecated.  He  found  fault  with 
no  one,  and  all  he  said  encouraged  good  feeling  and  har 
mony.  The  impression  made  upon  his  hearers  was  pro 
found,  and  I  saw  tears  running  down  the  cheeks  of  sev 
eral  sturdy  men.  Some  of  them  were  manifestly  aston 
ished  to  hear  a  voice  so  soft  and  gentle  issuing  from  such 
a  giant  of  war  and  renown.  They  all  shook  hands  with 
him  as  he  sat  in  his  large  arm-chair,  from  which  he  had 
not  risen,  and  they  left  apparently  fully  satisfied  with 
their  visit." 

"  WASHINGTON,  March  2. 

"  To-day  the  officers  of  the  Army,  or  a  majority  of 
them,  in  a  body,  paid  their  respects  to  Mr.  James 
Buchanan,  the  retiring  President  of  the  United  States. 
Mr.  Buchanan  made  a  short  complimentary  address  and 
took  an  affectionate  leave.  Not  a  word  of  compliment 
or  consolation  was  said  to  him.  Like  all  his  predecessors 
in  office  from  the  North,  he  retires  covered  with  obloquy, 
without  honor,  and  without  praise.  He  conceded  to  the 
South  far  more  than  he  ought,  but  he  failed  in  the  last 
days  of  his  administration  to  concede  everything,  and 
hence  the  neglect  with  which  he  is  treated  by  all  par 
ties. 


The  Inauguration.  415 

"  From  the  executive  mansion  the  body  of  officers  pro 
ceeded  to  visit  Mr.  Holt,  the  Secretary  of  War.  Gen 
eral  Scott  made  a  complimentary  address  to  him,  to 
which  he  returned  a  graceful  response.  I  did  not  dis 
agree  particularly  with  anything  that  was  said,  but  I 
felt  melancholy  to  be  obliged  to  hear  all  the  compli 
ments  paid  and  received  by  Southern  men.  I  had  been 
so  drugged  with  that  custom  that  I  could  no  longer  toler 
ate  it." 

"  WASHINGTON,  March  6. 

"The  inauguration  of  Mr.  Lincoln  passed  quietly.  The 
military  forces  and  police  had  been  judiciously  posted, 
and  I  noticed  no  signs  of  disturbance.  General  Scott 
drove  in  his  coup£  to  the  side  of  the  hill  on  the 
north  of  the  capital,  and  remained  in  it  during  the 
ceremony.  I  was  on  horseback  in  plain  clothes,  and 
from  time  to  time  rode  out  to  make  observations  and 
return  to  report  to  my  chief,  who  escaped  observation. 
There  was  an  immense  assemblage,  and  Mr.  Lincoln's 
deportment  was  admirable. 

"  The  inaugural  ball  was  a  decided  success.  It  was  the 
first  assemblage  of  the  kind  I  had  ever  attended  in 
which  the  great  majority  of  leading  personages  of  both 
sexes  were  not  Southerners.  The  coup  £<zil  was  en 
couraging. 

"  While  I  was  standing  at  a  distance  looking  at  the  Presi 
dent  and  his  party,  I  observed  Mr.  Lincoln  talking.  He 
made  a  remark  that  must  have  amused  himself,  for  he 
laughed  loudly,  and  at  the  same  time  he  joined  his  hands 
on  Lord  Lyons'  shoulder  and  bore  down  heavily.  Mr. 
Lincoln's  acquaintance  with  the  British  Minister  was  of  a 
week's  date,  and  had  ripened  quickly  to  intimacy.  I 
trust  the  reader  will  not  infer  from  the  above  remarks 
that  I  thought  lightly  of  the  President.  On  the  contrary 


41 6  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

I  felt  respect  for  him  the  first  time  I  heard  his  voice,  and 
every  successive  interview  increased  it. 

Among  the  numerous  delegations  that  called  about 
this  time  to  pay  their  respects  to  General  Scott  there  was 
a  rough-looking  farmer  from  Illinois  who  said  he  was  the 
man  who,  in  former  years,  hired  Mr.  Lincoln  to  maul 
rails.  I  entertain  no  doubt  that  Abraham  Lincoln  would 
have  been  a  great  man  even  if  he  had  never  split  rails, 
although  many  men  called  him  "  the  rail  splitter." 

"  WASHINGTON,  March  8. 

"  This  day,  after  a  long  discussion  between  General 
Scott,  Professor  Bache,  the  head  of  the  Coast  Survey, 
General  Totten,  chief  engineer  of  the  Army,  Captain  Ward 
and  myself,  it  was  determined  not  to  be  expedient  nor 
justifiable  to  attempt  the  relief  or  reinforcement  of  Fort 
Sumter  with  any  means  at  hand  and  within  the  time  req 
uisite  to  save  the  garrison  from  starvation." 

The  above  conclusion  was  rendered  inevitable  by  the 
scattering  of  the  forces  of  the  Army  and  Navy  under 
Buchanan's  administration. 

"WASHINGTON,  March  9. 

"  General  Scott  instructs  me  to  proceed  to  New  York 
city  and  despatch  steamers  to  Texas  to  bring  away  the 
Federal  troops." 

"  NEW  YORK,  March  10. 

"  Dined  with  my  charming  friends  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Van 
Buren.  The  feeling  of  home  which  I  experience  on  my 
return  to  this  city  fills  me  with  delight.  My  New  York 
friends  I  am  certain  are  the  best  people  in  the  world." 

"  NEW  YORK,  March  12. 

"  Dined  at  Mr.  Delano's.  Had  the  seat  of  honor. 
Mrs.  Delano  is  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Wm.  B.  Astor.  The 


Dinners  in  New   York.  417 

hospitality  of  this  dinner  was  elegant  without  the  least 
sign  of  affectation." 

"  March  13. 

"  Dined  at  Mr.  John  Jacob  Astor's,  Jr.  His  father 
was  present  and  evinced  much  interest  to  know  my  opin 
ion  about  the  prospect  of  war.  Mrs.  Astor's  goodness  of 
heart  would  have  made  her  conspicuous  in  poverty,  but 
in  her  affluence  it  tells  with  prodigious  effect." 

"Mart A  14. 

"  Dined  at  William  H.  Aspinwall's  and  had  the  seat 
of  honor.  Messrs.  Renwick,  John  Aspinwall,  Gouver- 
neur  Kemble  and  five  ladies  were  guests.  At  that  time 
Mr.  W.  H.  Aspinwall  was  a  model  in  appearance  of 
manly  beauty  and  vigor.  He  was  an  active  supporter  of 
the  Northern  cause,  and  a  merchant  of  great  enterprise. 
It  was  he  who  projected  the  first  line  of  steamers  from 
Panama  to  San  Francisco  before  the  discovery  of  gold." 

"  NEW  YORK,  March  15. 

"  Dined  at  the  Union  Club.  Conversed  with  Dr.  William 
Gwin,  ex-Senator  from  California.  He  remarked  that  Gen 
eral  Scott  had  written  a  paper  in  reference  to  coercing  the 
seceded  States,  and  that  Mr.  Seward  read  that  paper  to  Mr. 
Lincoln  on  the  day  of  the  inauguration.  The  paper,  accord 
ing  to  Dr.  Gwin,  stated  how  many  men  it  would  cost,  and 
that  a  good  young  general  could  accomplish  it.  Dr.  Gwin 
further  added  that  in  his  paper  General  Scott  regretted 
that  he  was  not  forty  years  younger,  that  he  might  do  it." 

The  above  paragraph  is  all  I  find  in  my  journal  in  refer 
ence  to  the  paper  referred  to  by  Dr.  Gwin.  General 
Scott  I  know  wrote  a  paper  on  the  subject  of  preserving 
the  Union,  but  if  it  contained  a  proposition  on  his  part  to 
fight  the  South  I  have  forgotten  it.  On  numerous  occa 
sions  he  expressed  to  me  his  regret  that  he  was  not 
younger,  say  of  the  age  of  Hoche  or  Marceau,  and  at  the 
18* 


Fifty  Years    Observation. 

head  of  a  well-disciplined  army  of  40,000  or  50,000  men, 
with  which  he  could  keep  the  peace. 

General  Scott  was  fond  of  referring  to  Hoche  and 
Marceau,  and  it  was  apparent  to  me  that  he  imagined  a 
strong  likeness  of  himself  in  those  two  gallant  young 
Frenchmen.  Hoche  was  so  full  of  daring  that  the  great 
Napoleon  confessed  that  he  would  have  feared  him  as  a 
rival  but  for  the  fact  that  Hoche  was  too  fond  of  money 
and  pleasure.  Marceau  had  an  unusual  ability  to  reform 
his  broken  battalions  under  fire,  and  to  restore  the  bat 
tle  when  it  swayed  against  him.  Death  cut  off  both 
those  heroes  before  the  age  of  30  years.  The  present 
government  of  France  is  taking  measures  to  perpetuate 
their  renown,  by  placing  their  equestrian  statues  with 
those  of  Kleber  and  Desaix  at  the  four  entrances  of  one 
of  the  great  public  buildings  in  Paris.  I  saw  the  models 
at  my  last  visit  to  France,  and  was  struck  with  the  resem 
blance  of  Marceau's  figure  to  that  of  the  late  General 
Custer  of  our  army. 

"NEW  YORK,  March  16. 

"  Dined  at  Doctor  Mott's.  He  is  the  most  distinguished 
American  surgeon  living.  The  party  was  thirty  in  num 
ber,  and  agreeable.  The  venerable  doctor  explored  his 
cellars,  and  brought  forth  five  bottles  of  Madeira  wine, 
the  least  ancient  of  which  had  been  thirty-five  years  in 
his  bins.  Messrs.  Gerard  and  Libbey,  both  intimate 
friends  of  Dr.  Mott,  General  Scott  and  I  were  present. 
Mr.  Gerard  was  a  celebrated  lawyer  and  a  conservative 
Democrat  in  politics.  He  was  an  orator,  and  on  one  oc 
casion,  in  the  spring  of  1861,  he  addressed  a  vast  assem, 
blage  in  the  Cooper  Institute  Hall  to  prove  that  there 
would  be  no  civil  war.  At  the  table  he  repeated  some  of 
his  arguments ;  then  turning,  he  called  to  me — I  was  far 
from  him :  *  Colonel,  what  is  your  opinion — will  there  be 


Scoffs  Letter  upon  Texas.  419 

war  or  will  there  be  peace?'  '  There  will  be  war  ! '  said 
I.  About  a  year  afterwards  as  I  was  coming  down  the 
stairs  of  the  Academy  of  Music,  he  left  his  ladies,  and 
approached  me,  saying,  '  General,  you  were  right ;  there  is 
war.'  I  noticed  that  many  clever  men  declared  there 
would  be  no  war,  and  for  the  simple  reason  that  they  had 
never  been  called  on  to  feel  the  cause  of  the  war." 

"WASHINGTON,  March  20. 

"Last  night  the  grand  letter  from  General  Scott  to 
the  commanding  officer  in  Texas,  looking  to  the  retention 
of  that  State  in  the  Union,  which  had  been  the  subject  of 
numerous  discussions,  was  despatched  to  its  destination 
by  Lieutenant  Collins  of  the  army.  Prior  to  the  despatch 
I  carried  the  letter  to  Mr.  Seward,  and  went  with  him  to 
visit  Mr.  Simon  Cameron,  Secretary  of  War.  In  a  con 
versation  with  me  in  the  morning,  and  again  at  the  meet 
ing  with  Mr.  Seward,  General  Cameron  told  me  he  would 
not  agree  to  the  plan  without  the  previous  approval  of 
Mr.  Lincoln  in  writing.  Mr.  Seward  said  to  me,  while  we 
were  alone  together,  that  he  did  not  wish  the  President's 
name  signed  to  any  paper  in  the  matter.  When  I  sug 
gested  that  some  words  should  be  inserted  in  the  paper 
to  show  that  it  was  in  co-operation  with  Governor 
Houston,  he  (Mr.  Seward)  exclaimed:  'It  may  as  well 
begin  here  as  anywhere ! ' 

"  WASHINGTON,  March  22. 

"Yesterday  General  Scott  wrote  a  postscript  to  the 
above-named  letter  to  the  commanding  officer  in  Texas, 
and  submitted  it  to  a  discussion  with  General  Cameron, 
Secretary  of  War,  and  Mr.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State. 
The  postscriptum,  which  was  approved  by  those  gentle 
men,  contained  in  substance  a  direction  to  the  command 
ing  officer  there  to  co-operate  with  Governor  Houston,  or 


420  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

other  executive  head  of  affairs  in  Texas,  acting  in  de 
fence  of  the  Federal  Government,  provided  such  head 
was  in  command  of  a  respectable  force  up  in  arms  to 
maintain  that  government. 

"  After  finishing  with  Texas,  Mr.  Cameron  having  left, 
and  only  General  Scott,  Mr.  Seward,  and  I  being  present, 
Mr.  Seward  remarked  in  strict  confidence  that  he  had  re 
ceived  information  from  a  high  source,  that  General 
Albert  Sidney  Johnson,  commanding  the  Department  of 
the  Pacific,  was  unfaithful  to  the  Union.  Senator  Nesmith 
of  Oregon  was  Mr.  Seward's  informant.  My  opinion  of 
Mr.  Johnson  was  asked.  I  had  known  and  respected  him 
as  an  honorable  gentleman,  believed  him  to  be  a  Demo 
crat,  but  could  not  say  whether  he  was  a  Secessionist  or 
not. 

"  After  a  long  discussion  it  was  determined  to  send  me 
to  the  Pacific  coast  to  investigate  matters  there.  It  was 
decided  that  I  should  carry  orders  in  my  pocket,  to  be 
used  at  my  own  discretion,  to  send  General  Johnson  to 
Washington,  and  to  devolve  his  command  on  Colonel 
George  Wright.  The  suggestion  to  send  me  to  San 
Francisco  came  from  Mr.  Seward,  and  was  acceded  to  by 
my  chief  with  a  reluctance  that  was  quite  apparent.  At 
the  conclusion,  General  Scott  exclaimed,  'What  shall  I 
do  ?  I  can  work,  I  suppose  ! '  As  I  was  anxious  to  go 
out  and  have  an  opportunity  to  look  after  my  interests, 
the  unsatisfactory  tone  of  his  remark  made  me  apprehen 
sive  that  I,  should  not  be  gratified.  I  was  not  in  the  least 
surprised,  therefore,  when  on  the  following  morning  the 
general  wrote  an  order  for  Colonel  E.  V.  Sumner  to  pro 
ceed  without  delay  to  San  Francisco,  and  assume  com 
mand  of  the  Department  of  the  Pacific.  The  order  was 
approved  by  the  Cabinet  in  secret  session — Colonel 
Sumner  embarked  by  stealth,  and  on  his  arrival  in  San 


President  Lincoln.  421 

Francisco  he  went  direct  from  the  boat  to  General  John 
son's  headquarters,  exhibited  his  orders,  assumed  com 
mand,  and  directed  his  predecessor  to  repair  without  delay 
to  Washington." 

It  is  possible  that  General  Scott  may  have  had  more 
reasons  than  one  for  his  reluctance  to  have  me  leave  him 
on  the  mission  proposed  by  the  Secretary  of  State.  I 
had  studied  to  lighten  his  labors  as  much  as  I  could,  and 
to  keep  him  informed  of  the  current  topics  of  the  day. 
He  might  have  detailed  one,  or  if  necessary  two,  officers 
to  assist  him  in  his  office,  but  in  regard  to  companionship 
I  had  one  advantage  over  all  others.  I  had  studied  his 
humors  for  fifteen  years,  and  knew  how  to  avoid  giving  him 
offence  in  every  thing  except  sectional  disputes  and  matters 
tending  to  civil  war.  In  reference  to  them  I  was  heedless, 
and  on  many  occasions  I  must  have  irritated  him  like 
a  blister.  When  my  gaze  annoyed  him  I  looked  at  some 
thing  else,  and  never  asked  him  to  repeat  a  verbal  order 
or  word  upon  any  subject  whatsoever.  He  knew  my  par 
tiality  for  that  noble  old  soldier,  Colonel  George  Wright, 
and  would  have  been  dull  indeed  if  he  had  not  foreseen 
that  for  me  the  noise  of  my  heels  on  the  stones  would  be 
all  the  proof  I  should  need  to  justify  the  removal  of 
General  Johnson,  and  advance  Wright  to  the  command 
of  the  Department  of  the  Pacific,  and  this  was  probably 
his  main  reason  for  detaining  me  in  Washington. 

In  the  line  of  my  duty  as  military  secretary  to  Gen 
eral  Scott  I  had  frequent  interviews  with  the  President, 
the  Secretary  of  State  Seward,  and  with  Cameron  and 
Stanton,  secretaries  of  war.  If  ever  there  was  a  diamond 
in  the  rough,  or  good  fruit  enclosed  in  shabby  husk,  it 
was  Abraham  Lincoln.  A  correspondent  of  the  New 
York  Herald,  after  his  nomination  for  President,  described 
the  nominee  as  "  tall,  gaunt,  and  as  ugly,  awkward  and 


422  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

shuffling  in  his  gait  as  Horace  Greeley."  A  stranger  on 
seeing  Mr.  Lincoln  would  have  concurred  in  that  de 
scription,  and  would  have  found  in  his  unreserved  con 
versations  with  all  approachers  a  strain  of  indescrib 
able  jocular  freedom.  I  doubt  if  any  man  or  woman 
could  have  had  an  interview  of  five  minutes'  duration 
with  "  Old  Abe,"  as  he  was  called,  upon  any  subject 
without  hearing  him  relate  an  anecdote  to  illustrate  it, 
and  many  of  his  anecdotes  were  as  broad  and  smutty 
as  language  can  convey.  Religion  itself  was  in  the 
category  of  his  illustrations,  as  the  following  story  told 
by  him  will  prove. 

A  certain  Judge  Campbell  of  Illinois  had  in  his  cir 
cuit  the  town  of  Springfield,  for  which  he  entertained 
a  profound  dislike.  One  day  when  he  adjourned  his 
court,  a  demure  individual  approached  and  asked  of 
the  judge  the  favor  of  holding  divine  service  in  his 
court  room  on  the  ensuing  Sabbath  morning.  The  re 
quest  being  granted,  a  conversation  followed,  in  which 
Mr.  Campbell  begged  to  know  the  denomination  of 
Christians  to  which  the  applicant  belonged.  "  I  am  an 
Adventist,"  said  he,  "  and  my  discourse  on  the  approach 
ing  Lord's  day  will  be  the  second  coming  of  Christ." 
"I  beg  pardon,"  said  the  judge,  "your  labor  would  be 
thrown  away  in  this  town.  In  the  first  place  I  don't 
think  Christ  was  ever  in  Springfield,  but  if  he  was  you 
may  be  sure  he'll  never  come  there  again." 

I  do  not  intend,  by  the  above  allusions  to  Mr.  Lincoln's 
peculiarities,  to  forestall  my  opinion  of  his  merits.  My 
first  impression  of  his  character  was  erroneous,  and  it  re 
quired  much  observation  and  close  study  to  enable  me  to 
penetrate  the  homely  environments  of  his  nature,  and 
disclose  the  lustre  of  his  genius,  his  candor,  integrity 
and  boundless  benevolence.  His  story-telling  enabled 


President  Lincoln.  423 

him  to  discharge  the  fulness  of  his  mind  and  sometimes 
to  hint  at  his  conclusions  without  giving  offence.  As 
he  understood  human  nature  in  all  its  variety  of  exhi 
bitions  he  acquired  an  unlimited  scope  of  illustrations. 
His  goodness  of  heart  and  freedom  from  suspicion 
sometimes  made  it  difficult  to  detect  treachery,  self- 
interest,  envy,  rivalry,  and  malice,  and  consequently, 
during  the  first  years  of  his  administration,  he  gave  a 
too  ready  ear  to  the  advice  of  unscrupulous  men  and 
allowed  unworthy  and  incompetent  officers  to  be  ad 
vanced,  while  their  betters  were  disregarded.  Poltroon 
ery,  covetousness,  dishonesty  and  obscenity  he  discovered 
quickly,  and  his  frankness  naturally  led  him  to  expose 
them  in  the  fittest  words  and  similes.  It  would  be  as 
unreasonable  and  unjust  to  infer  vulgarity  and  obscenity 
in  the  character  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  from  the  freedom  of  his 
speech,  as  it  would  be  to  question  the  genius  and  deli 
cacy  of  Shakespeare  because  he  has  introduced  in  the 
same  play, "  Measure  for  Measure,"  two  such  characters  as 
the  incomparable  Isabella  and  the  disgusting  Mistress 
Overdone, — the  one  possessing  all  the  loveliness  and 
virtue  that  man  imagines  in  a  woman — the  other  one  of 
the  same  sex  who  condenses  in  two  lines  all  the  vilest 
depravities  of  human  nature. 

Judging  the  entire  character  of  President  Lincoln's 
mind  and  heart,  and  viewing  the  conduct  of  his  whole 
private  and  public  life,  I  am  convinced  that  in  genius  he 
was  the  equal,  and  in  unselfish  benevolence  he  was  the 
superior,  of  all  the  men  who  have  hitherto  occupied  the 
chair  of  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  United  States.  That  a 
man  so  great  and  good  should  have  been  wantonly  slain 
by  an  actor  whose  declamation  on  the  stage  he  had  come 
to  witness,  would  be  incredible  if  history  had  not  taught 
that  the  wisest  and  most  humane  rulers  of  ancient  and 


424  Fifty   Years'  Observation. 

modern  times  were  the  most  exposed  to  the  assaults  of 
murderers.  Caesar,  William  of  Orange,  and  Henry  IV. 
of  France  were  assassinated,  but  Nero,  Ivan  the  Terrible 
of  Russia,  and  Henry  VIII.  of  England,  were  permitted 
to  die  in  their  beds. 

In  regard  to  Mr.  William  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of 
State  under  Lincoln,  although  he  was  my  professed 
friend,  I  find  greater  difficulty  in  defining  his  character 
satisfactorily  to  myself.  It  is  certain  that  he  was  a 
man  of  more  than  ordinary  talents,  laborious  and  full 
of  ambition  in  civil  life,  but  not  inclined  to  martial 
exploits.  He  abounded  in  words,  both  spoken  and 
written,  but  his  reasoning  was  not  conclusive  because 
his  judgment  was  not  positive.  He  was  convinced  that 
there  was  an  irrepressible  conflict  between  freedom  and 
slavery,  but  he  failed  to  foresee  clearly  the  necessary 
termination  of  that  conflict  in  civil  war.  He  made  a 
speech  in  Wall  Street,  in  the  autumn  of  1860,  to  prove 
that  all  the  disputes  between  the  North  and  the  South 
would  be  amicably  settled  in  sixty  days,  and  recom 
mended  the  merchants  to  continue  their  commerce. 
After  the  civil  war  commenced  he  said  it  could  have  been 
avoided  if  his  advice  had  been  followed.  He  filled  many 
offices,  the  most  important  of  which  were  those  of  Gov 
ernor  of  New  York,  United  States  Senator  and  Secretary 
of  State.  He  was  faithful  in  all  his  trusts,  but  he  did  not 
equal  in  genius  the  greatest  men  of  his  time.  After  my 
return  from  New  York  on  the  i8th  of  March,  I  observed 
that  he  had  lost  all  hope  of  a  national  reconciliation,  and 
he  originated  the  idea  of  reinforcing  Fort  Pickens  and 
pursued  it  with  an  unqualified  zeal.  His  disposition  had 
become  entirely  belligerent,  and  his  conduct  thereafter  in 
his  office  of  Secretary  of  State  was  such  as  entitled  him 
to  rank  with  the  noblest  patriots. 


Debates  in  the  Senate.  425 

As  to  General  Scott,  it  appeared  to  me,  and  many  en 
tries  in  my  journal  testify  to  the  fact,  that  he  had  become 
much  less  anxious  to  strengthen  the  Southern  forts  than 
formerly.  He  was  oppressed  with  maladies  of  age,  and 
his  debility  had  increased.  It  being  Lent  we  often  dined 
alone.  The  general  ate  and  drank  with  a  tolerable  appe 
tite,  but  the  moment  the  repast  was  finished  he  would 
call  David  (I  gave  the  name  David  to  all  his  body  ser 
vants  after  the  great  sable  David  of  the  Canadian  fron 
tier),  to  wheel  his  spacious  arm-chair  around,  and  put  his 
feet  up;  then  he  would  say,  "  A  dull  man  would  -be  the 
death  of  me  now,"  and  I  would  survey  his  countenance 
and  determine  whether  to  leave  or  to  talk  upon  some 
subject  that  would  not  annoy  him. 

Occasionally,  during  the  winter,  the  general  requested 
me  to  go  to  the  Senate  Chamber  and  listen  to  the  debates. 
On  my  return  I  would  relate  to  him  what  I  had  heard 
and  seen.  My  memory  being  good,  I  was  able  to  repeat 
the  swelling  periods  of  the  Senatorial  magnates  and  save 
him  the  trouble  of  reading.  As  I  was  almost  equally 
vexed  with  both  factions,  I  slashed  them  both  in  my  criti 
cisms,  and  in  that  way  I  made  myself  more  interesting  to 
my  chief.  When  I  heard  Mr.  Sumner  and  others  pro 
claim  the  superiority  of  the  North  in  jurists,  men  of 
science,  historians,  orators,  merchants,  mechanics,  philan 
thropists,  schools  and  general  intelligence,  I  felt  disposed 
to  stone  them.  Every  speech  of  the  Northern  Senators 
had  something  deprecatory  in  it,  and  that  at  a  time  when 
all  the  powers  of  the  Government  were  in  the  hands  of 
Southern  men.  If  I  had  been  a  member  of  that  august 
body  of  law-makers,  my  only  speech  would  have  been : 
"  The  North  demands  its  equal  proportionate  share  of 
authority,  offices  and  honors  of  the  Government,  or  war!  " 
Notwithstanding  my  hostility  of  sentiment,  I  admired 


426  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

the  graceful  dignity  and  splendid  elocution  of  the  South 
ern  Senators,  as  well  as  the  candid  selfishness  with  which 
they  told  how  long  and  grievously  they  had  groaned 
under  the  oppressive  exactions  of  the  North. 

I  was  present  and  heard  the  farewell  speeches  of  Sena 
tors  Jefferson  Davis  of  Mississippi  and  Benjamin  of  Louis 
iana.  Of  the  former  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  say  much. 
As  a  rule  there  was  a  mannerism  in  all  his  public  dis 
courses  by  which  he  endeavored  to  appear  in  loving  har 
mony  with  his  audience,  although  he  was  obstinate  and 
selfish  by  nature,  and  his  heart  was  as  cold  as  a  stone. 

While  he  was  Secretary  of  War  he  was  partial  and 
capricious  in  the  exercise  of  his  authority,  and  showed 
hostility  to  Generals  Scott  and  Wool.  He  would  seldom 
comply  with  a  suggestion  made  to  him  by  another,  but 
would  say,  "  Quite  the  contrary,  sir!  " 

I  don't  know  how  I  can  better  exemplify  Mr.  Davis's 
disposition,  than  by  repeating  a  story  which  General 
Scott  often  told,  late  in  life,  to  illustrate  the  word  contrary. 

Down  in  North  Carolina  there  once  lived  an  old  Scotch 
farmer  whose  son  was  named  Jock.  One  day  an  obtru 
sive  old  sow,  whose  time  had  come,  was  missing.  The 
farmer  and  his  son  went  up  the  stream  to  hunt  for  her. 
Far  up  they  found  her  in  the  bushes  with  many  little 
grunters  near.  Having  started  them  homeward,  the  old 
man  said,  "  Jock,  you  cross  over  and  look  along  down, 
for  she's  a  contrary  old  bitch,  and  I  wouldn't  wonder  if 
she  pigged  a  little  on  both  sides  the  creek !  " 

It  is  understood  that  Mr.  Davis  wrangled  more  or  less 
with  his  own  people  during  the  war.  He  is  determined 
to  have  his  way  of  thinking  till  he  dies. 

In  regard  to  Mr.  Benjamin,  he  appeared  to  me  to  be 
essentially  different  from  Mr.  Davis.  Notwithstanding  his 
incomparable  abilities,  and  that  he  with  great  reluctance 


Debates  in  the  Senate.  427 

became  a  Secessionist,  he  never  excited  animosity  in  me 
or  any  other  Northern  man  so  far  as  I  am  aware.  When 
I  listened  to  his  last  speech  in  the  Senate,  I  was  trans 
ported  out  of  myself.  Such  verbal  harmony  I  had  never 
heard  before.  There  was  neither  violence  in  his  action 
nor  anger  in  his  tones,  but  a  pathos  that  lulled  my  senses 
like  an  opiate  that  disturbs  the  domain  of  reason  and 
fills  the  mind  with  delightful  illusions.  I  was  conscious 
that  it  was  Senator  Benjamin  who  spoke,  and  that  his 
themes  were  mighty  wrongs  and  desperate  remedies,  but 
his  words  I  could  not  recite,  nor  can  I  yet  recall  them; 
but  memory  restores  the  illusive  pleasure  they  left,  which 
is  not  unlike  the  impression  I  retain  of  my  youthful  days, 
when  the  voices  of  my  loves — since  mute — enchanted  me 
in  bowers  and  shady  walks. 

One  day  I  was  in  the  Senate  Chamber,  when  the  chair 
men  of  an  unusual  number  of  committees  reported.  The 
heads  of  the  committees  on  Foreign  Affairs,  Finance, 
Ways  and  Means,  Commerce,  Judiciary,  Military  and 
Naval  Affairs,  Post-Offices  and  Post-Roads,  were  all 
Southern-born  men,  and  they  also  had  places  on  other 
committees.  As  the  speakers  rose  in  succession  to  report, 
my  strength  seemed  to  be  giving  way,  and  when  I  re 
turned  home,  shortly  before  dinner,  I  feigned  more  de 
bility  than  I  felt.  Going  into  the  dining-room  where  the 
general  was  sitting  alone,  I  dropped  upon  the  sofa  as 
though  I  was  exhausted.  The  general  exclaimed,  "What's 
the  matter?  Are  you  ill!" 

"  Not  ill  of  any  distemper,  but  of  debasement,  and  a 
sense  of  inferiority,"  said  I. 

"  What's  happened  ?     I  don't  understand  you." 

"  I  have  been  to  the  Senate,  and  have  heard  the  chair 
men  of  the  great  committees  report,  and  all  of  them  were 
Southerners.  Only  one  Northern  man  spoke,  and  he 


428  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

was  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Public  Grounds  and 
Buildings.  It  is  his  duty,  I  suppose,  to  stand  at  the  gate 
uncovered  and  make  obeisance  when  his  masters  pass  on 
their  way  to  the  Capitol." 

General  Scott  said  nothing  in  reply,  but  he  reached 
out  and  handed  me  the  small  pamphlet  containing  the 
names  of  all  the  members  of  both  houses  of  Congress. 
"  Young  gentleman,"  said  he,  "  look  at  that  list  and  tell 
me  if  you  find  better  names  for  chairmen  than  those  that 
distress  you  so  much?"  He  said  more,  but  I  have  for 
gotten  his  exact  words.  They  gave  me  the  impression, 
however,  that  none  of  the  Northern  senators  were  fit  to 
be  the  heads  of  the  principal  committees.  Thereupon  I 
discharged  all  signs  of  life  from  eye,  lip  and  limb,  slunk 
into  a  corner  of  the  sofa,  and  in  a  mournful  voice  ejacu 
lated  :  "  Now  I'm  dying,  and  I  wish  to  die,  for  my  race 
is  degraded;  none  of  my  breed  is  fit  to  be  the  head  of  a 
committee  of  Congress."  The  General  made  light  of  my 
sadness,  and  I,  having  been  long  accustomed  to  similar 
debasing  spectacles,  soon  turned  my  thoughts  upon  more 
agreeable  subjects. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

The  War  of  the  Rebellion. —State  of  Affairs  at  its  Outbreak.— Letter  to  the 
President. — Bull  Run. — The  Peninsula. — Letter  to  Senator  Harris. — 
Fair  Oaks.— Testimony  concerning  the  Battle.— The  Field  Revisited. 
—Conversation  with  President  Lincoln— Letter  from  Secretary  Chase. 

IN  this  concluding  chapter  of  my  book  there  will  not  be 
found  a  consecutive  history  of  any  part  of  the  War 
of  the  Rebellion,  but  it  will  contain  facts  and  document 
ary  evidence  in  relation  to  the  service  of  troops  I  com 
manded  which  have  not  been  heretofore  reported.  It 
will  also  embrace  references  to  my  own  conduct  and  to 
other  officers,  and  to  histories  of  the  conflicts  in  which  I 
was  engaged. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebellion  Northern  officers  en 
joyed  about  the  same  standing  in  the  Federal  Army  as 
the  Sepoys  enjoy  in  the  English  East  Indian  military 
service.  In  civil  life  "  Northern  men  with  Southern 
principles"  had  the  best  opportunities  for  advancement, 
and  among  all  the  governing  classes  a  man  suspected  of 
being  an  abolitionist  was  deemed  unworthy  to  walk  in 
any  of  the  paths  of  honor. 

The  state  of  things  then  existing  in  the  army  is  set 
forth  in  the  following  letter  which  I  addressed  to  Mr. 
Lincoln,  the  President-elect : 

NEW  YORK,  November  26,  1860. 
Hon.  Abraham  Lincoln ,  President-elect. 

DEAR  SIR  : — I  am  an  officer  of  the  army  of  more  than  twenty-five  years' 
standing,  and  I  am  going  to  present  certain  facts  in  relation  to  the  service 
which  you  may  deem  worthy  of  being  considered  in  the  selection  of  your 
Secretary  of  War. 


43O  Fifty   Years    Observation. 

At  this  time  all  the  departments  into  which  the  United  States  and  Terri 
tories  are  divided  are  commanded  by  officers  of  Southern  birth,  saving  only  the 
Department  of  the  East,  which  embraces  the  country  east  of  the  Mississippi 
River,  where  but  a  small  number  of  troops  are  stationed.  The  great  bulk  of 
the  army  is  in  the  Departments  of  the  Pacific,  Utah,  the  West,  New  Mexico 
and  Texas,  and  the  applications,  conduct  and  prospects  of  all  Northern  offi 
cers  must  pass  under  the  revision  of  Southern  men  before  they  reach  the 
commanding  general  or  the  Secretary  of  War,  who  are  both  Southern 
men. 

The  Surgeon-General  and  Quartermaster-General,  the  chief  of  the 
Topographical  Bureau,  the  Chiefs  of  Commissary  and  Ordnance  Bureaux, 
are  all  Southerners.  During  the  past  twelve  years  Messrs.  Conrad,  Davis 
and  Floyd,  all  Southern  men,  and  of  extreme  Southern  views,  have  been 
charged  with  the  patronage  of  the  War  Department,  and  they  have  taxed 
that  patronage  to  the  utmost  to  build  up  and  fit  for  command  the  young 
officers  of  Southern  birth,  while  those  from  the  North  have  been  treated 
with  neglect  and  contempt. 

In  1855  four  new  regiments  were  added  to  the  army,  and  of  the  sixteen 
field  officers  then  appointed  from  the  officers  already  iu  commission,  eleven 
were  of  Southern  and  five  of  Northern  birth.  The  selections  made  for  pro 
motion  were  made  ostensibly  on  the  ground  of  merit,  but  the  judges  them 
selves  were  from  the  South,  and  when  Southern  men  shall  admit  Northern 
men  as  equal  to  themselves  in  any  respect,  the  Millennium  will  have  arrived, 
and  war  will  have  ceased. 

As  I  have  no  personal  interests  to  serve,  and  no  grudge  against  any 
Southern  individual,  and  as  I  acknowledge  that  nearly  all  the  favors  I  have 
received  since  I  entered  the  service  I  owe  to  the  kindness  of  Southern  offi 
cers,  it  may  be  asked  why  I  write  this  letter.  I  write  to  ask  that  you  will 
appoint  a  Secretary  of  War,  a  Northern  man,  who,  like  Wade  or  Sherman, 
or  one  who  understands  the  principles  of  dominations,  will  proceed  to  build 
up  Northern  officers  and  place  them  in  commands  proportionate  with  the 
population  of  the  North,  or,  if  the  present  policy  of  giving  all  authority, 
command,  grace  and  dignity  to  the  Southern  officers  is  to  be  continued,  the 
young  men  from  the  North  ought  to  be  notified  in  advance,  so  that  when 
they  enter  the  army  they  must  never  aspire  to  any  but  subordinate  positions. 

How  is  this  apparent  superiority,  as  exemplified  in  the  army,  brought 
about  ?  If  we  examine  the  Cadets'  Registers  it  will  be  seen  that  Northern 
talent  predominates  at  the  military  academies.  There  the  standing  in  the 
classes  is  determined  by  daily  examinations,  and  the  knowledge  of  facts  is 
demonstrated  in  the  presence  of  all,  so  that  partiality  and  favoritism  have 
no  room  to  operate.  But  as  soon  as  the  cadets  are  put  in  commission  it  is 
found  that  all  the  Southern  officers  coalesce  to  assist  one  another,  and  that 


Beginning  of  the  War.  431 

all  their  civil  functionaries  are  on  the  watch  to  advance  their  friends.  On 
the  other  hand,  Northern  officers  being  wholly  overlooked  by  Northern 
functionaries,  are  divided  among  themselves,  and  of  those  who  have  spirit 
and  capacity  some  turn  doughfaces,  and  others,  the  victims  of  disgust  and 
blasted  hopes,  die  early,  or  fall  into  premature  decay  of  body  and  mind. 

In  the  city  of  Washington  no  one  can  fail  to  see  with  what  an  arrogant 
assumption  of  superiority  Southern  men  demean  themselves.  In  the  army 
Southern  domination  is  more  apparent  and  pernicious  than  elsewhere. 

One  of  the  chief  benefits  of  a  military  peace  establishment  being  to  ascer. 
tain  who  is  fit  to  command,  nearly  the  whole  fruit  of  the  twenty  and  odd 
millions  spent  yearly  on  the  army  goes  to  foster  the  martial  capabilities  of 
the  South.  That  fact,  but  more  still  the  insolent  superiority  and  propensity 
to  domination  inherent  in  Southerners,  have  at  last  waked  in  the  North  a 
spirit  of  vengeance,  a  spirit  which  will  never  subside  until  the  patronage, 
commands  and  honors  of  the  Government  are  justly  and  fairly  distributed. 
I  am,  Sir,  with  perfect  respect, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

E.  D.  KEYES. 

The  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  made  civil  war  inevitable, 
but  its  magnitude  was  not  foreseen  by  many.  The  vet 
eran  General  John  E.  Wool  estimated  the  situation 
properly  when  he  declared  that  an  army  of  200,000  men 
should  be  placed  at  once  in  the  field  to  take  Richmond 
and  hold  it.  Wool's  opinions  were  ridiculed  as  the  mut- 
terings  of  a  dotard,  and  General  W.  T.  Sherman,  who 
called  for  an  equal  force  in  Kentucky,  was  pronounced 
crazy.  The  advocates  of  half  measures  prevailed,  and  a 
call  was  made  for  75,000  volunteers.  Congress  voted  an 
increase  of  the  regular  army,  and  of  the  new  regiments  of 
infantry  to  be  added  I  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  nth 
and  despatched  to  Boston  to  recruit  it.  My  recruiting 
was  scarcely  begun  when  I  was  ordered,  upon  the  requisi 
tion  of  General  Irvin  McDowell,  to  return  to  the  capital 
and  take  command  of  a  brigade  in  his  army,  at  Ar 
lington. 

My  brigade  was  composed  of  four  regiments  of  volun 
teers,  the  2d  Maine,  the  1st,  2d,  and  3d  Connecticut. 


432  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

When  I  assumed  command  early  in  July,  1861,  there  was 
not  a  man  under  my  orders  whom  I  had  ever  seen  be 
fore.  The  intelligence  of  officers  and  men  enabled  them 
to  learn  their  duties  quickly,  and  at  the  end  of  two 
weeks,  when  we  took  up  the  line  of  march  for  Manassas, 
I  could  manoeuvre  my  brigade  without  difficulty. 

On  the  evening  of  July  21,  I  was  encamped  on  the 
slope  of  the  hill  at  Centreville.  General  McDowell  called 
a  council  of  war,  and  the  movements  for  the  next  day 
were  discussed.  The  plan  of  the  intended  battle,  from 
all  I  could  learn  of  the  field  and  the  position  of  the  en 
emy,  was  a  good  one.  I  noticed  no  want  of  confidence 
in  our  commander,  and  but  for  the  rawness  of  a  large  ma 
jority  of  the  volunteers  a  victory  might  have  been  antici 
pated. 

The  division  of  Brigadier-General  Daniel  Tyler  was 
composed  of  the  brigades  of  Schenck,  Wm.  T.  Sherman 
and  my  own. 

General  Tyler  was  a  graduate  of  the  Military  Acad 
emy,  and,  though  past  sixty  years  of  age,  his  activity  and 
fitness  for  command  were  not  impaired,  while  in  the  army 
he  had  been  distinguished  for  his  knowledge  of  his  pro 
fession  and  employed  on  various  important  duties.  He 
was  a  man  of  high  character. 

My  orders  required  me  to  march  at  2  o'clock  in  the 
morning  of  July  21,  and  precisely  at  that  hour  I  moved 
out  of  the  field  where  we  had  bivouacked  into  the  road. 
As  General  Hunter's  column  was  passing  I  found  mine 
obstructed  by  his  men,  and  after  thirty  minutes  I  re 
ceived  orders  from  General  Tyler  to  place  my  brigade  on 
the  side  of  the  road  and  allow  Hunter's  and  Heintzel- 
man's  divisions  to  pass.  The  road  was  so  narrow  that, 
being  anxious  about  the  long  delay,  I  sent  a  staff  officer 
to  ask  permission  to  get  forward  as  best  I  could.  The 


Bull  Run.  433 

aide  returned  with  orders  from  General  McDowell  to  re 
main  where  I  was.  When  the  road  was  clear  I  pressed 
forward  and  overtook  Sherman's  brigade  at  the  crossing 
of  Bull  Run  above  the  bridge.  Some  of  his  compa 
nies  were  doubled  up  at  the  ford,  and  I  was  obliged  to 
halt  my  column  not  less  than  five  minutes  to  allow 
them  to  straighten  out  before  my  leading  files  entered 
the  stream. 

After  crossing  I  kept  my  men  well  closed,  and  on 
reaching  the  top  of  the  hill  1  formed  line,  facing  the 
enemy,  and  proceeded  to  the  attack  simultaneously  with 
General  Sherman. 

The  above  specific  description  of  my  movements  I 
think  excusable,  for  the  reason  that  I  have  frequently 
seen  it  stated  that  the  loss  of  the  Battle  of  Bull  Run 
was  due  to  the  delay  of  Keyes'  brigade !  Senator 
Chandler,  in  one  of  his  speeches,  cited  my  delay  as  one 
of  the  probable  causes  of  defeat,  and  when  I  wrote  to 
ask  his  authority  for  such  an  assertion,  he  replied : 
"  They  said  so  !  "  As  neither  General  McDowell,  nor  his 
able  and  observant  chief  of  staff,  General  Jas.  B.  Fry, 
General  Tyler,  nor  any  officer  or  man  of  my  brigade, 
ever  hinted  that  I  was  tardy  in  getting  into  the  fight, 
I  took  no  further  notice  of  the  groundless  slander. 

The  service  of  my  brigade  in  the  battle  of  Bull  Run  is 
described  in  my  report  of  it,  which  is  found  in  the  2d  vol 
ume,  page  15,  Rebellion  Record.  I  had  the  enemy  con 
stantly  in  front  of  me,  and  renewed  my  assaults  several 
times.  I  was  on  the  extreme  left,  and  about  twenty 
minutes  before  the  panic  on  the  right  commenced  I 
found  myself  in  a  critical  situation.  A  strong  body  of 
Rebel  infantry  was  in  front  of  me,  and  on  the  left  was  a 
battery  of  artillery  that  opened  fire  and  sent  its  shots  rico- 
chetting  along  parallel  to  my  line,  and  about  two  hun- 
19 


434  Fifty   Years'  Observation. 

dred  yards  in  rear.  To  get  away  from  that  exposure  I 
faced  my  line  to  the  right  and  moved  rapidly  around  the 
base  of  a  hill,  a  distance  of  about  300  yards.  That  move 
ment  was  scarcely  accomplished  when  Lieutenant  Em 
ory  Upton  (afterwards  General)  came  to  me  with  orders 
from  General  McDowell  to  retire,  as  the  right  wing  had 
been  routed.  The  beginning  of  the  rout,  or  panic,  was 
indicated  by  a  sudden  lull  in  the  firing,  which  produced 
an  ominous  effect  in  my  mind. 

As  I  retired,  with  ranks  closed,  towards  the  point 
where  I  was  to  descend  to  the  crossing  of  Bull  Run,  I 
saw  on  the  heights  to  the  left  a  long  line  of  Rebel  infan 
try  looking  down  upon  us  in  what  appeared  to  be  a  state 
of  uncertainty.  They  did  not  fire  upon  us,  although  we 
were  within  range,  and  I  joined  the  retreating  mass  a 
short  distance  in  rear  of  General  McDowell  and  his  staff. 
I  allowed  all  my  brigade,  which  was  in  perfect  order, 
to  file  past  me  into  the  woods,  and  then  I  followed  to 
the  ford  without  any  molestation  from  the  enemy. 

After  crossing  the  stream  there  was  not  a  sign  of 
military  organization  to  be  seen,  but  there  was  very 
little  noise.  The  retreating  current  tended  towards  the 
main  road,  which  I  joined  at  a  point  about  half  a  mile 
from  the  bridge.  The  road,  and  both  sides  of  it,  were 
crowded  with  men,  horses,  cannon,  baggage-wagons,  and 
ambulances. 

My  aide,  Lieutenant  Gordon,  was  riding  by  my  side, 
and  shortly  after  we  got  into  the  main  road  the  Rebel 
cavalry  came  thundering  upon  the  retreating  mass  from 
the  opposite  side.  Then  a  scene  of  confusion  ensued 
which  beggars  description.  Cavalry  horses  without  rid 
ers,  artillery  horses  disengaged  from  the  guns  with 
traces  flying,  wrecked  baggage-wagons,  and  pieces  of  ar 
tillery  drawn  by  six  horses  without  drivers,  flying  at  their 


After  Bull  Run.  435 

utmost  speed  and  whacking  against  other  vehicles,  sol 
diers  scattered  everywhere,  running,  some  without  arms 
or  caps.  ,1  saw  men  throw  down  their  muskets  with  a 
gesture  as  violent  as  they  would  throw  off  a  venomous 
reptile.  The  rush  produced  a  noise  like  a  hurricane  at 
sea.  Gordon  was  made  prisoner  at  my  side. 

After  crossing  Cub  Run  the  hurly-burly  subsided  in  a 
great  degree.  I  kept  on  at  a  moderate  pace,  met  Captain 
Meigs  and  exchanged  a  few  words  with  him,  and  a  little 
further  along  I  was  addressed  by  Bonn  Piatt,  who  was  try. 
ing  to  collect  men  to  stay  the  retreat.  I  tarried  not  with 
him,  but  pursued  my  way  to  my  bivouac  of  the  preceding 
night,  where  I  found  all  the  survivors  of  my  three  Con 
necticut  regiments  collected  together.  Col.  Jameson,  2d 
Maine,  on  his  arrival  at  Centreville,  in  advance  of  me,  had 
been  directed  by  General  Tyler,  or  General  McDowell,  to 
proceed  to  Alexandria.  In  a  little  while  orders  came  to 
me  from  General  Tyler  to  return  to  our  former  camp  near 
Falls  Church.  The  ranks  were  formed,  and  after  a  tedious 
night's  march  we  reached  our  destination  after  daylight 
the  22d  July,  and  found  all  our  tents  standing. 

Having  been  27  continuous  hours  in  the  saddle,  with 
occasional  short  intervals  in  which  I  kept  the  reins  in  my 
hand,  I  felt  weary.  After  giving  orders  that  no  man 
should  leave  camp,  I  lay  down  for  an  hour's  rest,  which 
restored  me  to  freshness.  While  I  was  lying  down  Col 
onel  (afterwards  General)  W.  T.  Sherman  came  alone  into 
my  tent.  His  countenance  was  that  of  a  disappointed 
man.  After  resting  in  silence  twenty  minutes,  he  arose 
and  departed.  I  am  not  certain  whether  Sherman  had 
troops  or  company  with  him  or  not. 

Captain  Hodge,  the  Brigade  Quartermaster,  was  a  man 
of  extraordinary  energy.  I  dispatched  him  to  Washing 
ton  to  bring  out  teams  to  carry  in  the  tents  and  other 


436  Fifty   Years    Observation. 

public  property.  He  had  great  difficulty  to  prevail  on 
the  drivers  to  venture  out,  but  finally  succeeded  in  bring 
ing  over  a  small  number,  which  was  gradually  increased 
to  about  forty  wagons,  and  he  procured  twelve  long  plat 
form  cars  from  Alexandria.  We  sent  in  and  saved  from 
the  enemy  not  less  than  175  six-mule  wagon  loads  of 
tents  and  camp  equipage  belonging  to  my  brigade,  the 
Ohio  brigade,  and  others  (comprising  about  9,000  men), 
which  but  for  us  the  rebels  would  have  captured.  We 
left  nothing,  and  in  the  afternoon  of  Tuesday,  at  the  head 
of  my  three  Connecticut  regiments  of  volunteers,  every 
man  with  his  musket,  I  marched  from  the  railroad  to  Fort 
Corcoran  on  the  Potomac,  where  we  arrived  at  5  o'clock 
P.M.,  or  about  fifty  hours  after  crossing  Bull  Run  in  re 
treat.  The  last  three  miles  of  our  march  from  the  rail 
road  was  over  ground  as  desolate  in  appearance  as  the 
land  of  Idumea. 

The  energy  displayed  by  Col.  Terry — since,  and  now,  a 
major-general  in  the  regular  army — Colonels  Chatfield 
and  Burnham,  their  officers  and  men,  and  Captain  Hodge, 
Brigade  Quartermaster,  deserves  to  be  recorded.  Very 
little  notice  has  ever,  to  my  knowledge,  been  taken  of  our 
delay  in  the  retreat,  but  it  was  reported  to  me  that  "  they 
said"  I  had  deserted  to  the  rebels! 

Major-General  Terry  being  alive,  and  in  high  standing 
in  and  out  of  the  army,  and  others  of  my  brigade  can 
testify  to  the  truth,  or  falsehood,  of  the  foregoing  narra 
tive,  and  if  any  portion  of  it  is  exaggerated  they  will  not 
fail,  I  trust,  to  correct  it. 

General  Tyler  was  active  throughout  the  day  riding 
from  one  of  his  brigades  to  the  other,  and  he  was  long 
enough  with  me  to  know  all  my  doings.  The  following 
extract  from  his  report  expresses  his  opinion  of  my 
brigade  of  soldiers : 


General  Wadswortfa  437 

On  closing  this  report  it  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  express  my  admira 
tion  of  the  manner  in  which  Colonel  Keyes  handled  his  brigade  ;  completely 
covering  it  by  every  possible  accident  of  the  ground  while  changing  his  posi 
tion,  and  leading  it  bravely  and  skilfully  to  the  attack  at  the  right  moment, 
to  which  the  brigade  responded  in  every  instance  in  a  manner  highly  credit 
able  to  itself  and  satisfactory  to  its  commanding  officers.  At  no  time  during 
the  conflict  was  this  brigade  disorganized,  and  it  was  the  last  off  the  field  in 
good  order. 

Gen.  Beauregard  in  his  book  states  that  the  small  loss 
in  Keyes'  brigade  (10  per  cent.)  was  due  to  the  skill  with 
which  it  was  handled  by  its  commander. 

Shortly  after  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  I  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general,  and  took  command  of 
another  brigade  at  Arlington,  under  General  McDowell. 
There  I  was  associated  on  duty  with  Brigadier-General 
James  Wadsworth  of  New  York,  a  man  of  great  worth 
and  exalted  patriotism.  One  day  he  said  to  me  :  "  If  my 
father  was  alive  now,  and  would  not  devote  his  mind, 
body,  and  estate  to  this  cause,  I  could  not  respect  him." 
He  told  me  he  was  an  abolitionist. 

The  first  time  I  relieved  Wadsworth  as  general  officer 
of  the  day,  he  was  going  to  lead  me  directly  across  a  large 
open  field  at  one  side  of  which  was  a  thick  wood  in  pos 
session  of  the  enemy,  to  one  of  our  posts.  I  represented 
to  him  the  folly  of  exposing  ourselves  at  short  range  to 
the  rebel  sharpshooters,  as  we  were  in  full  uniform,  and 
there  was  no  necessity  for  doing  so.  Accordingly  we 
made  a  detour.  General  Wadsworth  was  subsequently 
killed  in  battle.  No  better  patriot  fell  in  the  war. 

After  General  McClellan  took  command  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac,  I  was  advanced  to  the  head  of  the  divi 
sion  which  Don  Carlos  Buell  had  left  to  go  West,  and  had 
charge  of  a  section  of  the  defences  of  Washington  city. 

The  subject  of  army  corps  was  discussed,  and  I  gave 
my  opinion  in  favor  of  such  an  organization,  which  was 


438  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

announced  by  General  McClellan  in  orders,  and  I  was 
assigned  to  the  command  of  the  4th  corps,  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  Generals  McDowell,  Sumner,  and  Heintzelman 
being  respectively  assigned  to  the  1st,  2d,  and  3d  corps. 
J  understand  that  General  McClellan  was  not  in  favor 
of  the  appointment  of  any  one  of  the  four  above  named. 
It  may  have  been  rumor  in  regard  to  others,  but  I  am 
certain  he  was  opposed  to  me.  I  was,  therefore,  conscious 
that,  in  addition  to  the  responsibilities  of  an  important 
command,  I  was  about  to  enter  upon  a  campaign  laden 
with  disfavor  at  headquarters.  For  that  reason  I  was  the 
more  cautious  to  avoid  all  acts  and  words  of  insubordi 
nation,  and  determined  to  obey  the  orders  of  General 
McClellan  with  the  same  zeal  that  I  obeyed  the  glorious 
Colonel  George  Wright  in  his  Indian  campaign  of  1858. 

The  discussions  concerning  the  line  of  operations 
against  the  rebels  were  protracted  and  warm.  President 
Lincoln  took  part,  and  the  clearness  of  his  perception  on 
this  subject,  as  on  most  others,  was  apparent.  The  ele 
ments  of  ferocity  and  selfishness,  which  are  not  unusual 
with  first-class  military  chiefs,  were  wholly  foreign  to  Mr. 
Lincoln's  nature.  Nevertheless,  there  was  not  one  of  his 
most  trusted  warlike  counsellors  in  the  beginning  of  the 
war  that  equalled  him  in  military  sagacity.  His  supreme 
benevolence  caused  him  many  times  to  surrender  good 
positions  for  bad  ones. 

The  line  by  Fort  Monroe  and  the  Isthmus  was  my  first 
choice,  and  for  that  I  voted  after  I  had  sent  and  gone  to 
the  Navy  Department,  and  received  assurance  upon  two 
points — 1st,  that  the  rebel  ironclad  Merrimac  had  been 
neutralized  by  the  illustrious  hero,  John  L.  Worden,  and 
2d,  that  the  navy  would  be  able  to  co-operate  effectively 
to  secure  to  us  the  free  passage  of  the  James  and  York 
rivers,  and  especially  the  latter. 


The  New  Army.  439 

General  McClellan  was  at  first  in  favor  of  the  line  by 
Urbana,  but  he  was  not  strongly  opposed  to  the  line  by 
Fort  Monroe,  which  was  his  alternate  choice,  and  to  that 
point  his  army  was  transported. 

That  body  of  about  120,000  men,  which  landed  at  Fort 
Monroe  in  March,  1862,  lacked  some  of  the  qualifications 
of  an  army.  The  material  was  good  enough  to  form  a 
Spartan  Phalanx,  or  Caesar's  favorite  legion,  and  Gen 
eral  McClellan  had  shown  superior  ability  in  organi 
zation  ;  but  there  were  many  new  levies  with  little  or  no 
instruction,  and  the  majority,  from  want  of  experience, 
were  deficient  in  esprit  de  corps  and  the  necessity  of 
passive  obedience.  The  want  of  training  of  the  volun 
teers,  however,  was  not  greater  than  the  incongruity  of  the 
officers  of  the  regular  army  who  held  the  superior  com 
mands. 

That  incongruity  is  easily  explained.  During  forty 
years  before  the  rebellion  it  was  an  axiom  with  the  War 
Department  that  no  officer  was  fit  to  command  an  army 
who  was  not  of  Southern  birth.  My  loud  dissent  from 
that  assumed  axiom  was  considered  a  sure  indication  of 
folly  and  in  competency.  I  refer  to  myself  simply  as  an 
exponent  of  a  state  of  things  that  naturally  grew  out  of 
the  institution  of  slavery. 

When  the  Southerners  retired  from  the  army  the 
Northern  functionaries,  in  their  discordancy  and  dejec 
tion,  cast  about  for  another  class  of  men  fit  for  com 
mands.  As  the  military  sentiment  was  not  in  repute  at 
the  North,  the  public  mind  turned  upon  men  of  science 
and  politicians.  The  Engineer  Corps  was  the  principal 
depot  of  science  in  the  army,  and  the  politicians  were 
obtrusively  near. 

The  Engineer  Corps  is  recruited  from  the  heads  and 
upper  files  of  classes  at  the  Military  Academy,  and  the 


440  Fifty   Years'  Observation. 

exaltation  of  superiority  in  scholarship  while  a  cadet  is 
not  modified  or  lessened  after  graduating,  but  is  increased 
by  exclusive  employment  and  association  as  officers.  The 
engineers  are  worthy  of  all  respect  for  their  talents,  in 
tegrity,  and  devotion  to  duty ;  but  they  appear  always 
to  overlook  and  disregard  the  necessity  of  service  with 
troops  of  the  line  as  a  preparation  for  command  in  the 
field.  The  grumbling  old  line  officer  goes  to  duty  and 
observes  precedence  often  against  the  bias  of  his  judg 
ment.  Not  so  the  engineer  officer,  who  has  acquired  the 
habit  of  independent  action  and  placed  science  above 
a  knowledge  of  human  nature  in  the  management  of 
soldiers. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  war  the  engineers  were  nearly 
everywhere  in  the  direction.  Those  first  in  command 
offered  a  strange  variety  of  administration  due  to  their 
native  dispositions.  They  were  able  and  active,  but 
those  who  disapproved  them  voiced  their  criticisms  in 
strains  like  the  following :  Halleck  was  stub  and  twist ; 
Fremont  was  vanity  incarnate;  Rosecrans  was  polemi 
cal—but  it  is  not  possible  to  encase  McClellan  in  a  single 
phrase  that  will  show  him  fully.  I  must  therefore  drift 
a  little  into  his  character,  and  sink  a  winze  here  and  there 
to  find  the  value  of  his  metal. 

At  West  Point  I  had  McClellan  under  instruction  in 
artillery  and  cavalry,  and  was  struck  with  the  facility 
with  which  he  learned  his  lessons  and  his  strong  attach 
ments  to  friends — qualities  for  which  he  has  always  been 
remarkable.  I  knew  how  proud  he  was  of  being  in  the 
Engineer  Corps,  but  I  did  not  forecast  his  love  of  popular 
applause,  which,  though  apparent,  was  occasionally  over 
stated,  as  it  was  one  day  by  old  Count  Gurowski,  the 
snarling  ex-Polish  nobleman  and  translator  in  the  De 
partment  of  State. 


General  McClellan.  441 

It  was  after  a  review  in  the  outskirts  of  Washington, 
when  McClellan  returned  late  in  the  afternoon  followed 
by  a  train  of  generals,  adjutants,  aides,  orderlies,  senators 
and  other  civil  functionaries,  and  a  rabble  of  idlers  that 
would  have  been  crowded  on  ten  acres  of  ground.  Noth 
ing  was  lacking  that  denotes 

"  Supremacy  and  all  the  large  effects 
That  troop 


Among  them  was  old  Gurowski,  who  wore  a  wide- 
brimmed  hat  and  a  gray  overcoat.  I  was  quite  intimate 
with  the  count,  who  had  taught  me  several  new  epithets 
of  censure  and  terms  of  dissent.  After  a  while  the  old 
Pole  came  sidling  up  to  me.  His  lowering  countenance 
showed  that  the  glittering  pomp  of  war  had  no  power  to 
cheer  him.  He  found  fault  with  everything  ;  said  he  had 
lived  many  years  in  Washington  and  had  noticed  how 
quickly  the  heads  of  popular  favorites  were  turned,  but 
no  head  was  ever  turned  so  quickly  as  that  one  yonder  — 
pointing  to  McClellan. 

Such  denunciations  as  the  above,  which  were  frequent, 
ought  not  to  weigh  in  our  estimate  of  the  character  under 
discussion,  since  if  there  has  been,  or  is  now  on  earth,  a 
man  whose  head  could  not  be  turned  by  the  show  and 
adulation  of  which  General  McClellan  was  then  the  sub 
ject,  I  have  not  known  him.  Unfortunately  for  him,  how 
ever,  the  host  of  his  admirers  embraced  all  the  "  Northern 
men  with  Southern  principles/'  and  nearly  all  the  "  cop 
per-heads,"  to  wit  :  all  those  who  thought  the  war  un 
justifiable,  like  Vallandigham,  S.  L.  M.  Barlow  and 
August  Belmont,  and  many  other  prominent  Northern 
men. 

The  disembarkation  on  the  Isthmus  was  not  complete 
when  General  McClellan  issued  his  orders  for  the  three 
19* 


442  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

corps,  mine  being  on  the  James  River  side,  to  move  on 
the  first  day  to  points  indicated.  Before  reaching  these 
points  the  whole  army  was  brought  to  a  halt  by  a  rebel 
line  of  defensive  works  stretching  across  from  Yorktovvn 
to  the  James  River  near  Warwick  Court  House. 

The  head  of  my  column  arrived  at  that  point  in  a 
drenching  rain  ;  all  the  streams  and  low  places  were  full 
of  water  which  the  enemy  had  used  to  the  best  advantage 
to  obstruct  us.  I  visited  the  same  place  in  May,  1884, 
and  I  was  unable  to  imagine  how  human  ingenuity 
could  have  collected  so  much  water  as  I  saw  there  in 
1862. 

During  ten  days,  after  reaching  Warwick  Court  House, 
the  ground  was  so  soft  and  miry  in  places  that  the  rations 
for  the  soldiers  at  many  points  of  the  line  had  to  be  car 
ried  on  the  backs  of  men. 

The  following  is  the  letter  which  I  wrote  to  my  friend, 
Senator  Ira  Harris.  As  General  McClellan  embodied  the 
entire  letter  in  his  report  I  make  no  excuse  for  inserting 
it  here. 

HEADQUARTERS,  4TH  CORPS, 
WARWICK  COURT  HOUSE, 
VIRGINIA,  April  7,  1862. 

MY  DEAR  SENATOR  : — The  plan  of  campaign  on  this  line  was  made  with 
the  distinct  understanding  that  four  army  corps  should  be  employed,  and 
that  the  navy  should  cooperate  in  the  taking  of  Yorktown  ;  and  also  (as  I 
understood  it)  support  us  on  our  left  by  moving  gunboats  up  James  River. 

To-day  I  have  learned  that  the  first  corps,  which  by  the  President's 
order  was  to  embrace  four  divisions,  and  one  division  (Blenker's)  of  the 
second  corps,  have  been  withdrawn  altogether  from  this  line  of  operations 
and  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  At  the  same  time,  as  I  am  informed, 
the  navy  has  not  the  means  to  attack  Yorktown,  and  is  afraid  to  send  gun 
boats  up  James  River  for  fear  of  the  Merrimac. 

The  above  plan  of  campaign  was  adopted  unanimously  by  Major-General 
McDowell  and  Brigadier-Generals  Sumner,  Heintzelman  and  Keyes,  and 
was  concurred  in  by  Major-General  McClellan,  who  first  proposed  Urbana 
as  our  base. 


"t 

)2.  ) 


Letter  to  Senator  Harris.  443 

This  army  being  reduced  by  45,000  troops,  some  of  them  among  the  best 
in  the  service,  and  without  the  support  of  the  navy,  the  plan  to  which  we 
are  reduced  bears  scarce  any  resemblance  to  the  one  I  voted  for. 

I  command  the  James  River  column,  and  I  left  my  camp  near  Newport 
News  the  morning  of  the  4th  inst.  I  only  succeeded  in  getting  my  artillery 
ashore  the  afternoon  of  the  day  before,  and  one  of  my  divisions  had  not  all 
arrived  in  camp  the  day  I  left,  and  for  the  want  of  transportation  has  not  yet 
joined  me.  So  you  will  observe  that  not  a  day  was  lost  in  the  advance,  and 
in  fact  we  marched  so  quickly  and  so  rapidly  that  many  of  our  animals  were 
twenty-four  and  forty-eight  hours  without  a  ration  of  forage.  But  notwith 
standing  the  rapidity  of  our  advance,  we  were  stopped  by  a  line  of  defence 
nine  or  ten  miles  long,  strongly  fortified  by  breastworks  erected  nearly  the 
whole  distance  behind  a  stream  or  succession  of  ponds,  nowhere  fordable, 
one  terminus  being  Yorktown  and  the  other  ending  in  the  James  River, 
which  is  commanded  by  the  enemy's  gunboats.  Yorktown  is  fortified  all 
around  with  bastioned  works,  and  on  the  water  side  it  and  Gloucester  are  so 
strong  that  the  navy  is  afraid  to  attack  them. 

The  approaches  on  one  side  are  generally  through  low,  swampy  and 
thickly  wooded  ground,  over  roads  which  we  are  obliged  to  repair  or  to 
make  before  we  can  get  forward  our  carriages.  The  enemy  is  in  great  force, 
and  is  constantly  receiving  reinforcements  from  the  two  rivers.  The  line  in 
front  of  us  is,  therefore,  one  of  the  strongest  ever  opposed  to  an  invading 
force  in  any  country. 

You  will  then  ask  why  I  advocated  such  a  line  for  our  operations?  My 
reasons  are  few,  but  I  think  good. 

With  proper  assistance  from  the  navy  we  could  take  Yorktown,  and 
then,  with  gunboats  on  both  rivers,  we  could  beat  any  force  opposed  to  us 
on  Warwick  River,  because  the  shot  and  shell  from  the  gunboats  would 
nearly  overlap  across  the  Peninsula,  so  that  if  the  enemy  should  retreat — 
and  retreat  he  must — he  would  have  a  long  way  to  go  without  rail  or  steam 
transportation,  and  every  soul  of  his  army  must  fall  into  our  hands,  or  be 
destroyed. 

Another  reason  for  my  supporting  the  new  base  and  plan  was  that  this 
line,  it  was  expected,  would  furnish  water  transportation  nearly  to  Rich 
mond. 

Now,  supposing  we  succeed  in  breaking  through  the  line  in  front  of  us, 
what  can  we  do  next  ?  The  roads  are  very  bad,  and,  if  the  enemy  retains 
command  of  James  River,  and  we  do  not  first  reduce  Yorktown,  it  would  be 
impossible  for  us  to  subsist  this  army  three  marches  beyond  where  it  is  now. 
As  the  roads  are  at  present,  it  is  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  we  can  sub 
sist  it  in  the  position  it  now  occupies. 

You  will  see,  therefore,  that  the  force  originally  intended  for  the  capture 


Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

of  Richmond  should  be  all  sent  forward.  If  I  thought  the  four  army  corps 
necessary,  when  I  supposed  the  navy  would  co-operate,  and  when  I  judged 
of  the  obstacles  to  be  encountered  by  what  I  learned  from  maps  and  the 
opinions  of  officers  stationed  at  Fort  Monroe,  and  from  all  other  sources, 
how  much  more  should  I  think  the  full  complement  of  troops  requisite,  now 
that  the  navy  cannot  co-operate,  and  now  that  the  strength  of  the  enemy's 
lines  and  the  number  of  his  guns  and  men  prove  to  be  almost  immeasurably 
greater  than  I  had  been  led  to  expect !  The  line  in  front  of  us,  in  the 
opinion  of  all  military  men  here  who  are  at  all  competent  to  judge,  is  one  of 
the  strongest  in  the  world,  and  the  force  of  the  enemy  capable  of  being 
increased  beyond  the  numbers  we  now  have  to  oppose  to  him.  Inde 
pendently  of  the  strength  of  the  lines  in  front  of  us,  and  of  the  force  of  the 
enemy  behind  them,  we  cannot  advance  until  we  get  command  of  either 
York  River  or  James  River.  The  efficient  co-operation  of  the  navy  is, 
therefore,  absolutely  essential,  and  so  I  considered  it  when  I  voted  to  change 
our  base  from  the  Potomac  to  Fort  Monroe. 

An  iron-clad  boat  must  attack  Yorklown,  and  if  several  strong  gunboats 
could  be  sent  up  James  River  also,  our  success  will  be  certain  and  complete, 
and  the  rebellion  will  soon  be  put  down. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  must  butt  against  the  enemy's  works  with  artillery, 
and  a  great  waste  of  time,  life,  and  material. 

If  we  break  through  and  advance,  both  our  flanks  will  be  assailed  from 
two  great  watercourses  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy  ;  our  supplies  would  give 
out,  and  the  enemy,  equal  if  not  superior  in  numbers,  would,  with  the 
other  advantages,  beat  and  destroy  this  army. 

The  greatest  master  of  the  art  of  war  has  said  "  that  if  you  would  invade 
a  country  successfully  you  must  have  one  line  of  operation,  and  one  army, 
under  one  general."  But  what  is  our  condition?  The  State  of  Virginia  is 
made  to  constitute  the  command ,  in  part  or  wholly,  of  some  six  generals, 
viz  :  Fremont,  Banks,  McDowell,  Wool,  Burnside,  and  McClellan,  besides 
the  scrap  over  the  Chesapeake  in  the  care  of  Dix. 

The  great  battle  of  the  war  is  to  come  off  here.  If  we  win  it,  the  rebel 
lion  will  be  crushed — if  we  lose  it,  the  consequences  will  be  more  horrible 
than  I  care  to  tell.  The  plan  of  campaign  I  voted  for,  if  carried  out  wilh 
the  means  proposed,  will  certainly  succeed.  If  any  part  of  the  means  pro 
posed  are  withheld  or  diverted,  I  deem  it  due  to  myself  to  say  that  our  suc 
cess  will  be  uncertain. 

It  is  no  doubt  agreeable  to  the  commander  of  the  first  corps  to  have  a 
separate  department,  and  as  this  letter  advocates  his  return  to  General  Mc- 
Clellan's  command,  it  is  proper  to  state  that  I  am  not  at  all  influenced  by 
personal  regard,  or  dislike,  to  any  of  my  seniors  in  rank.  If  I  were  to 
credit  all  the  opinions  which  have  been  poured  into  my  ears,  I  must  believe 


McClelland  Report.  445 

that,  in  regard  to  my  present  fine  command,  I  owe  much  to  General  Mc 
Dowell  and  nothing  to  General  McClellan.  But  I  have  disregarded  all  such 
officiousness,  and  1  have  since  last  July  to  the  present  day  supported  General 
McClellan,  and  obeyed  all  his  orders  with  as  hearty  a  good-will  as  though 
he  had  been  my  brother  or  the  friend  to  whom  I  owe  most.  I  shall  continue 
to  do  so  until  the  last,  and  so  long  as  he  is  my  commander.  He  left  Wash 
ington  with  the  understanding  that  he  was  to  execute  a  definite  plan  of  cam 
paign  with  certain  prescribed  means.  The  plan  was  good  and  the  means 
sufficient,  and  without  modification  the  enterprise  was  certain  of  success. 
But  with  the  reduction  of  force  and  means  the  plan  is  entirely  changed,  and 
is  now  a  bad  plan,  with  means  insufficient  for  certain  success. 

Please  show  this  letter  to  the  President,  and  I  should  like  also  that  Mr. 
Stanton  should  see  its  contents.  Do  me  the  honor  to  write  to  me  as  soon 
as  you  can,  and  believe  me,  with  perfect  respect, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

E.  D.    KEYES, 
Brigadier-General  commanding  ^th  Army   Corps. 

Senator  Harris  wrote  me  some  time  afterwards  that  he 
had  given  one  of  my  letters  to  President  Lincoln,  and 
this  was  the  one.  It  finally  came  into  the  hands  of  Gen 
eral  McClellan,  who  embodied  the  whole  letter  in  his  re 
port—page  555. 

General  McClellan  also  quoted  in  his  report  a  long 
paragraph  from  my  testimony  before  the  Congressional 
Committee  on  the  conduct  of  the  war,  and  he  associates 
my  opinions  with  those  of  my  friend  and  correspondent, 
Major-General  J.  G.  Barnard,  his  chief  engineer,  who,  it 
should  be  known,  was  entitled  to  be  called  illustrious  for 
his  genius  in  science  and  his  virtues  as  a  man. 

When,  after  the  campaign  was  ended,  I  had  read  Gen 
eral  McClellan 's  report  and  saw  myself  quoted  in  a  man 
ner  so  flattering  my  astonishment  was  inexpressible.  I 
was  in  New  York,  where  I  met  Col.  Key,  A.  D.  C.  and 
judge-advocate  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  I  asked 
him  how  it  happened  that  his  chief  had  so  copiously  em 
ployed  my  opinions  to  strengthen  his  decisions.  "  Be- 


446  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

cause,"  said  he,  "  your  opinions  were  so  correct  and  so 
well  expressed  that  he  could  not  avoid  it !  " 

The  reason  for  my  astonishment  was  that  from  the 
time  I  landed  at  Fort  Monroe  till  after  I  crossed  White 
Oak  swamp  on  the  2Qth  of  June,  leading  the  way  in  the 
change  of  base  to  the  James  River,  General  McClellan 
never  once  asked  my  advice  or  opinion  in  regard  to  any 
battle  or  movement,  nor  did  he  once  call  me  into  council 
with  the  other  corps  commanders.  I  was  several  times 
told  that  they  were  called  into  council  and  I  was  left  out. 

While  the  army  was  detained  before  Yorktown,  an  un 
fortunate  attack  was  made  on  Lee's  Mill  from  a  point  with 
in  my  line  which  was  guarded  by  General  W.  F.  Smith,  one 
of  my  division  commanders.  On  the  i6th  April,  the  day  of 
the  attack,  I  visited  Smith's  headquarters  and  found  him 
and  General  McClellan  alone  together  in  consultation.  I 
remained  in  their  presence  about  five  minutes,  and,  my 
opinion  not  being  asked,  I  withdrew  from  the  position. 
Shortly  afterward  the  assault  was  made,  which  caused  a 
heavy  loss  on  our  side  in  killed  and  wounded,  and  no 
benefit  whatsoever. 

If  my  opinion  had  been  asked  by  the  General-in-Chief 
it  would  have  been  given  decidedly  in  opposition.  My 
opinion  was  fixed  that  the  proper  method  to  break 
through  that  line  with  our  large  force  was  by  a  simul 
taneous  pressure  and  menace  along  the  whole  line,  and 
serious  assaults  upon  points  previously  indicated.  That 
was  the  proper  way,  but  my  judgment  was  not  sought ; 
and  I  absolutely  deny  all  responsibility  for  the  attack  of 
April  i6th,  1862. 

It  would  appear,  however,  that  my  name  was  associated 
in  the  affair.  General  Webb,  when  writing  his  book  on 
the  war  in  the  summer  of  iSSi,  questions  me  in  a  note 
about  the  attack  on  Lee's  Mill.  He  also  indicated  a 


Lees  Mill. 


447 


supposition  that  I  had  been  ordered  by  General  McClellan 
to  attack  it  and  had  disobeyed  the  order.  I  was  dis 
mayed,  for  I  did  not  retain  in  memory  the  slightest  inci 
dent  that  could  suggest  such  a  supposition.  The  subject 
perplexed  me  often,  and  it  was  only  made  clear  in  July, 
1884,  when,  in  turning  the  leaves  of  McClellan's  Report 
in  the  Astor  Library,  I  discovered  the  following  (p.  553) : 

The  nature  of  that  position  (Lee's  Mill)  in  relation  to  the  Warwick  not 
being  at  that  time  understood,  I  instructed  General  Keyes  to  attack  and 

carry  this  position  upon  coming  in  front  of  it When  General 

Keyes  approached  Lee's  Mill,  his  left  flank  was  exposed  to  a  sharp  artillery 
fire  from  the  further  bank  of  the  Warwick,  and  upon  reaching  the  vicinity 
of  the  mill  he  found  it  altogether  stronger  than  was  expected,  unapproach 
able  by  reason  of  the  Warwick  River,  and  incapable  of  being  carried  by 
assault. 

The  above  reference  to  Lee's  Mill  had  no  connection 
with  the  attack  of  April  i6th,  but  it  was  ample  ground 
for  a  slanderous  charge  of  disobedience  of  orders  and  in- 
competency  against  me. 

The  slander  had  reached  a  friend  of  mine  to  whom  I 
wrote  a  letter  from  Yorktown,  concerning  a  young  volun 
teer.  My  letter  also  referred  to  my  being  left  on  the 
Isthmus,  and  to  certain  experiences  in  the  recent  cam 
paign.  The  officer  to  whom  I  wrote  was  a  man  of  talents, 
in  full  sympathy  with  me  regarding  the  war,  and  he 
afterward  commanded  a  corps.  I  give  here  the  closing 
paragraph  of  his  letter,  which  is  sombre  in  tone  and  full  of 
heat.  The  letter  from  which  I  quote  is  dated  October 
23,  1862  : 

I  have  had  command  of  a  division  at  and  since  the  battle  of  South 

Mountain,  but  it  devolved  on  me  from 's  sickness  and  's  wound.     I 

do  not  expect  to  retain  it,  for  it  is  well  known  I  dislike  the  stand-still  policy 

of and .     As  soon  as  they  find  a  decent  pretext  I  suppose  they 

will  throw  me  overboard.     It  did  not  need  your  letter  to  convince  me  that 


448  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

you  would  receive  nothing  but  injustice  from  those  men.  They  attempted  to 
throw  the  catastrophe  of  Lee's  Mill  upon  your  shoulders.  Perhaps  they  think 
it  is  useful  to  retain  a  few  of  us  in  the  army  as  scapegoats  for  their  own 
blundering  and  incapacity." 

I  am  entirely  ignorant  of  the  names  of  the  persons  who 
"  attempted  to  throw  the  catastrophe  of  Lee's  Mill  upon 
your  (my)  shoulders,"  but  I  here  solemnly  assert  that 
whosoever  did  say  I  had  anything  to  do  with  that  attack 
made  a  specific  and  unqualified  mistake. 

The  rebels  having  retired  from  Yorktown  our  army 
pursued,  and  on  the  4th  day  of  May  fought  the  battle  of 
Williamsburg,  which  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  describe 
minutely. 

When  the  head  of  my  column  arrived  near  the  field  of 
battle  after  sunset  on  the  evening  of  the  3d,  it  was 
stopped  by  other  troops  and  their  carriages  that  blocked 
the  road  completely.  I  got  forward  with  one  staff  officer, 
and  found  General  Sumnerin  a  house,  where  I  slept  on  the 
floor  of  a  small  room,  in  which  was  the  Prince  of  Joinville 
with  six  or  seven  other  persons.  Early  the  next  morning 
General  Sumner,  who  had  the  chief  command,  said  he 
should  intrust  me  with  the  attack  on  the  right.  There 
was  a  considerable  delay  in  giving  the  order,  due,  prob 
ably,  to  ignorance  of  the  topography  of  the  country  and 
the  position  of  the  enemy.  The  moment  he  gave  me  the 
order  I  proceeded  to  select  Hancock's  brigade,  and  went 
with  it  a  considerable  distance  to  the  right  and  ordered 
him  to  attack,  which  he  did  in  gallant  style. 

As  soon  as  I  saw  Hancock  well  at  work,  I  returned  to 
get  forward  and  send  into  action  other  portions  of  my 
corps.  That  was  a  task  of  difficult  performance,  owing 
to  the  woods  and  the  narrowness  of  the  communications 
in  which  the  different  columns  were  mingled. 

There  was   some  hard   fighting  below  Williamsburg, 


General  Hancock. 


449 


but  not  much  beauty  in  the  battle.  General  McClellan 
in  a  despatch  to  Mrs.  McClellan  announces  his  admiration 
for  the  conduct  of  Hancock,  who  was  one  o(  his  favorites. 
Couch,  Peck  and  others  of  my  corps  did  excellent  ser 
vice. 

While  he  was  in  my  corps,  Hancock's  activity,  gal 
lantry,  cheerfulness  and  freedom  from  spite  and  insub 
ordination  attracted  me  strongly.  After  he  was  trans 
ferred  I  was  not  near  enough  to  him  to  note  how  great 
success  and  adulation  in  and  after  the  war  had  affected 
his  nature,  and  I  know  not  his  humor  now  that  he  has 
been  jolted  on  the  rough  ways  of  politics,  and  warped 
and  stretched  upon  a  Democratic  platform,  but  it  would 
be  impossible  to  corrupt  Hancock. 

The  army  halted  several  days  at  Williamsburg,  and  I 
was  quartered  in  the  house  of  a  prominent  rebel  who  had 
abandoned  it  to  fight  against  the  Union.  General  Mc 
Clellan  had  issued  an  order  against  marauding,  and  under 
cover  of  that  order  the  Provost-Marshal  General  of  the 
army  found  occasion  to  administer  to  me  a  most  humili 
ating  experience. 

The  rebel  owner  of  the  house  had  left  behind  several 
bottles  of  wine  and  brandy.  I  took  for  myself  one  bot 
tle  of  wine  and  drank  it  with  my  friends,  and  I  gave  a 
bottle  of  the  brandy  to  Colonel  John  J.  Astor,  A.D.C.  to 
General  McClellan.  At  the  suggestion  of  my  chief  Sur 
geon  Brown  and  Colonel  Suydam,  I  took  several  bottles 
and  carried  them  along  for  the  use  of  the  sick.  The 
liquor  was  safe  with  me,  for  I  did  not  drink  brandy,  and 
not  one  drop  of  the  brandy  seized  ever  touched  my  lips. 

On  arriving  at  Roper's  Church,  two  marches  from  Wil 
liamsburg,  I  received  peremptory  orders  to  report  in 
person  to  the  Provost-Marshal  General  of  the  army.  By 
him  I  was  questioned  concerning  the  liquor  and  directed 


45O  Fifty   Years'  Observation. 

to  return  it  in  charge  of  a  staff  officer  to  the  place  from 
which  it  was  taken.  I  suppressed  all  signs  of  anger,  and 
directed  Lieutenant  Chetwood,  A.D.C.,  to  execute  the 
order  without  delay. 

The  Provost- Marshal  General  to  whom  I,  a  corps  com 
mander,  was  ordered  to  report  in  person,  was  my  junior 
in  rank,  and  the  opinions  he  entertained  in  regard  to  the 
war  and  its  causes  were  doubtless  as  little  in  sympathy 
with  my  own  as  those  of  any  man  in  either  army.  I  am 
greatly  mistaken  if  he  did  not  feel  happy  in  the  oppor 
tunity  to  insult  me  grossly  in  the  line  of  duty. 

As  I  have  before  remarked,  it  is  not  my  purpose  to 
write  a  complete  history  of  any  part  of  the  war  of  the 
rebellion,  but  to  draw  attention  to  actions  in  which  I 
took  part. 

The  battle  of  Fair  Oaks  was  one  of  the  most  san 
guinary  of  the  war,  and  considering  the  isolation  of 
the  combatants  due  to  an  unexpected  rise  of  the  Chicka- 
hominy,  the  Union  cause  was  in  greater  danger  on  the 
3 1st  of  May,  1862,  than  at  the  date  of  any  other  battle 
except  Gettysburg.  It  was  called  by  the  Confederates  the 
battle  of  Seven  Pines,  and  that  is  its  proper  designation, 
because  there  the  principal  fighting  v/as  done  and  the 
greatest  losses  on  both  sides  sustained. 

In  all  the  numerous  histories  that  I  have  seen  not  one 
contains  a  tolerably  fair  account  of  the  battle  of  Fair 
Oaks.  In  none  of  the  reports  of  the  chiefs  engaged  on 
our  side  except  mine  are  the  positions  of  the  brigades  of 
my  corps  at  the  beginning  of  the  action  stated.  Without 
a  clear  knowledge  of  those  positions,  a  hundred  persons 
might  read  all  the  reports  and  all  arrive  at  wrong  and  dif 
ferent  conclusions. 

My  corps  was  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Chickahominy, 
and  considerably  in  advance  on  the  3ist  of  May,  1862, 


Fair  Oaks.  451 

which  was  the  first  day  of  what  is  called  the  battle  of 
Fair  Oaks.  To  that  first  day  alone  this  description  ap 
plies. 

To  comprehend  the  battle  let  it  be  understood  that  the 
place  called  Seven  Pines  is  at  the  junction  of  the  Wil- 
liamsburg  and  Nine  Mile  roads.  At  that  point  the  reader 
must  fancy  himself  placed.  Looking  thence  up  the  Wil- 
liamsburg  road  towards  Richmond,  he  will  have  Casey's 
redout  half  a  mile  from  him,  on  the  left  of  that  road  and 
near  to  it.  Casey's  division  of  three  brigades  of  infantry, 
and  certain  artillery  under  Colonel  Bailey,  forms  the  first 
line  which  extends  to  the  right  across  to  the  railroad, 
which  is  about  a  mile  off,  and  to  the  left  to  the  White 
Oak  swamp,  which  was,  owing  to  heavy  rains,  less  than 
a  mile  distant.  Most  of  Bailey's  artillery  was  in  and  near 
the  redout,  the  horses  outside.  Palmer's  brigade  is  on 
the  left,  Wessel's  brigade  in  the  centre,  and  Naglee's 
brigade  on  the  right  of  Casey's  line,  with  two  regiments 
across  the  railroad.  In  front  of  Casey's  line,  at  an  aver 
age  distance  of  a  long  musket  range,  were  woods  and 
thickets  that  concealed  the  enemy,  whose  approach  was 
down  the  Williamsburg  road  and  through  other  openings 
in  the  woods. 

The  Nine  Mile  road  starting  from  Seven  Pines  to  the 
right  slants  a  little  forward  to  Fair  Oaks  station,  which  is 
one  mile  distant.  To  the  rear  of  that  road  on  the  right 
and  left  of  the  Williamsburg  road  Couch's  division  of 
three  brigades  of  infantry  and  West's  artillery  forms  the 
second  line,  which  was  somewhat  nearer  to  Casey's  line 
on  the  right  than  on  the  left  where  the  distance  apart 
was  over  half  a  mile.  Peck's  brigade  forms  the  left  of 
Couch's  line,  and  is  all  on  the  left  of  the  Williamsburg 
road.  Devens's  brigade  is  in  the  centre  of  Abercrombie's 
brigade,  is  on  the  right  of  Couch's  line,  and  has  two 


45 2  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

regiments  across  the  railroad,  where  Brady's  battery  is 
also  stationed.  The  White  Oak  swamps,  the  Williams- 
burg  road  and  railroad  are  nearly  parallel.  When  Heint- 
zelman  came  up  at  about  4  P.  M.  with  two  brigades  of 
his  corps,  they  went  in  under  General  Kearny  on  the 
left  of  the  Williamsburg  road  ;  and  when  Sumner  got 
into  action  at  about  5  P.  M.,  he  was  on  the  right  of  the 
railroad,  and  did  not,  I  think,  cross  it  on  the  3 1st. 

Below  Seven  Pines  I  held  a  reserve  of  several  regiments 
of  Couch's  division,  which  I  dispatched  successively  to 
strengthen  Casey's  line  at  points  where  I  saw  they  were 
most  needed. 

I  stated  in  my  report  that  the  country  was  mostly 
wooded  and  greatly  intersected  with  marshes,  and  such 
was  the  truth  on  the  day  of  the  battle,  and  the  deep  mud 
is  mentioned  in  some  of  the  reports.  It  was  otherwise  in 
May,  1884,  when  I  found  all  the  ground  dry  and  hard. 

The  position  my  corps  occupied  was  not  of  my 
selection,  but  was  chosen  by  the  engineers  and  ap 
proved  by  General  McClellan,  who  had  not  visited  it 
in  person  to  my  knowledge.  The  left  of  my  lines  was 
well  protected  by  the  White  Oak  swamps,  but  the  right 
was  on  ground  so  favorable  to  the  approach  of  the  enemy, 
and  so  far  from  the  Chickahommy,  that,  if  Johnston  had 
attacked  there  an  hour  or  two  earlier  than  he  did,  I 
could  have  made  but  a  feeble  defence  comparatively, 
and  every  man  of  us  would  have  been  killed,  captured, 
or  driven  into  the  swamps  or  river  before  assistance 
could  have  reached  us.  I  supposed  the  attack  would 
come  from  the  right  even  before  the  sudden  overflow 
of  the  Chickahommy.  I  made  many  reports  to  head 
quarters  of  my  situation  during  the  thirty-six  hours 
immediately  preceding  the  battle,  and  was  constantly 
expecting  an  attack. 


Fair  Oaks.  453 

My  report  is  a  far  better  history  of  the  conflict  than  I 
could  write  now,  and  to  its  truth  in  every  essential 
particular  I  can  take  oath.  I  was  not  positive  in  stating 
the  exact  time  at  which  General  Heintzelman  arrived 
on  the  field  with  reinforcements,  nor  that  at  which  the 
last  line  of  battle  was  formed  by  General  Heintzelman 
and  me.  General  McClellan's  report  states  that  it  was 
near  5  o'clock  P.  M.  when  Heintzelman  arrived,  but  I  am 
convinced  that  he  came  up  the  Williamsburg  road,  and 
that  when  I  rode  over  and  spoke  with  him  it  was  not 
five  minutes  before  or  after  4  o'clock.  Jameson's  brigade 
was  approaching,  and  Heintzelman  asked  me  where  they 
were  most  needed,  and  I  pointed  up  and  to  the  left 
of  the  road,  and  in  that  direction  Jameson's  column 
passed,  while  we  stood  together  and  got  into  action 
fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  past  4.  The  last  line  was 
formed  after  sunset,  that  is,  after  7  o'clock  P.  M.,  and  it 
was  as  late  as  7.30  when  the  battle  ended. 

General  Heintzelman  ranked  me  and  had  been  placed 
in  the  general  command  of  all  the  forces  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Chickahominy.  During  the  three  last  hours 
of  the  battle,  from  his  arrival  on  the  field,  when  Casey 
and  his  whole  line  had  been  overwhelmed  with  superior 
numbers  and  hurled  to  the  rear,  we  often  met  and 
consulted  together.  He  gave  me  no  order,  nor  did  he 
in  the  least  interfere  with  my  command  of  my  own 
people,  though  in  the  confusion  the  men  of  his  corps  got 
mixed  with  mine,  and  we  both  gave  directions  wherever 
we  happened  to  be.  We  both  had  all  we  could  do, 
because  all  the  enemy's  forces  had  got  into  action,  while 
a  very  great  number  of  our  men  had  deserted  the  ranks 
and  left  us  with  a  fearful  minority  against  the  enemy. 

The  bravery  and  activity  of  General  Heintzelman  were 
conspicuous  throughout,  and  when  a  clerk  carried  my 


454  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

report  to  him  without  my  signature,  it  was  sent  back  with 
the  following  note : 

Brig.-Gen*l  E.  D.  Keyes,  Commanding  %th  Corps. 

DEAR  GENERAL  : — You  have  omitted  to  sign  your  report.  Will  you 
please  sign  and  return  it  by  the  orderly  ?  General  Heintzelman  has  ex 
pressed  himself  as  much  pleased  with  your  report,  and  is  astonished  at  the 
accuracy  with  which  you  have  detailed  the  events  of  the  day. 

Yours  respectfully, 
[Signed]  C.  WcKEEVER,  Chief  of  Staff. 

The  general's  own  report  of  the  battle  repeats  his 
compliments  to  mine,  to  the  correctness  of  which  there 
cannot  possibly  be  adduced  more  direct  and  positive 
proof.  Many  other  officers  assured  me  of  its  truth  and 
fairness,  and  no  man  has  ever  to  my  knowledge  accused 
me  of  error  or  unfairness.  General  Devens,  afterwards 
Attorney-General  of  the  United  States,  whose  bravery 
and  good  conduct  in  the  battle  were  conspicuous,  wrote 
me  that  instead  of  retiring  from  the  field  on  being 
wounded  near  me,  he  only  withdrew  a  short  distance  to 
have  his  wound  bandaged,  and  then  he  went  into  action 
again.  I  stated  what  I  saw,  and  I  did.net  happen  to 
observe  him  when  returned  into  action. 

Directly  after  the  battle,  instead  of  an  inconsiderable 
number  of  enemies  who  sought  to  damage  me  for  my 
strong  Northern  Republican  sentiments,  and  gather  my 
reputation  from  slanderous  tongues,  I  found  that  many 
persons  who  had  no  special  reason  to  dislike  me  sought 
to  misrepresent  my  conduct  or  ignore  me.  Slanders 
were  widely  circulated  and  credited  ;  one  was  that  I  had 
been  superseded  in  the  command  of  the  4th  Corps  by 
General  Heintzelman. 

Under  the  sting  of  that  and  other  foul  slanders  and 
insinuations,  I  addressed  a  note  to  headquarters,  but  did 
not  retain  a  copy.  It  brought  the  following  response  : 


General  Marcy's  Letter.  455 

i 

NEW  BRIDGE,  June  4,  1862. 

DEAR  KEYES  : — In  reply  to  your  letter  received  this  morning,  I  can  say 
to  you  that  instead  of  there  being  any  unfavorable  impression  on  the  mind  of 
General  McClellan,  regarding  your  action  on  the  field  of  battle  of  the  3ist 
ultimo,  he  has  informed  me  that  from  what  he  has  learned  you  conducted 
yourself  with  great  gallantry.  He  has  spoken  in  terms  of  censure  of  the 
general  conduct  of  the  division  commanded  by  General  Casey,  which  has 
been  wanting  in  that  excellent  discipline  that  has  characterized  the  other 
divisions  of  the  army,  but  he  does  not  by  any  means  hold  you  responsible  for 
this. 

This  division  was  for  the  most  part  composed  of  new  regiments,  and  of 
course  so  much  could  not  be  expected  as  from  others,  yet  he  has  not  a  doubt 
but  parts  of  this  division  may  have  behaved  well. 

The  general  has  no  other  desire  but  to  do  justice  to  all,  and  you  may  rely 
upon  it  that  he  will  not  do  you  the  least  injustice. 

His  health  has  not  been  good,  and  he  is  overwhelmed  with  important 
business,  but  he  will  take  the  first  opportunity  to  make  a  report  of  the  3ist 
and  ist,  which  will,  I  think,  be  perfectly  satisfactory  to  you. 

Very  sincerely  your  friend, 

[Signed]  R.  B.  MARCY. 

P.  S. — General  Heintzelman  was  placed  in  command  of  your  corps  in 
order  to  have  one  general  command  the  entire  line.  In  the  same  way 
Sumner  was  placed  in  command  of  the  whole.  This  was  done  without 
intent  to  cast  any  reflection  on  you,  and  I  am  surprised  that  you  should 
have  so  regarded  it. 

[Signed]  R.  B.  M. 

The  postscript  to  General  Marcy's  letter  is  very  impor 
tant.  The  Chickahominy  ran  between  the  two  wings  of 
the  army,  and  it  was  in  a  military  point  of  view  quite 
proper  to  designate  in  orders  the  ranking  officer  on  the 
right  bank  as  the  commanding  general  of  the  whole.  In 
the  same  way  my  orders  to  command  the  Fourth  Corps 
made  me  the  commander  of  its  divisions  and  brigades. 
But  the  order  given  to  General  Heintzelman  in  this  in 
stance  has  been  generally  employed  with  apparent  malig 
nity  to  my  prejudice.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  I  com 
manded  the  Fourth  Army  Corps  on  the  3ist  May,  and  no 


456  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

officer  in  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks  was  less  interfered 
with  in  the  exercise  of  his  proper  functions  than  I 
was. 

Another  false  impression  has  gained  a  footing.  Many 
persons  have  been  made  to  believe  that  there  were  two 
fights  on  the  3  ist  May — one  fought  by  Casey's  line  and  one 
by  that  of  Couch.  An  officer  of  rank  stated  to  me  that 
such  an  inference  might  originate  in  my  own  report, 
which  stated  that  "  after  I  had  sent  reinforcements  to 
sustain  Casey's  line  until  the  numbers  were  so  much  re 
duced  in  the  second  line  that  no  more  could  be  spared," 
I  then  proceeded  to  describe  "  the  operations  of  the  sec 
ond  line,  which  received  my  uninterrupted  supervision." 
It  would  be  as  incorrect  to  say  there  were  two  battles  on 
the  3 ist  as  to  say  that  every  division  and  brigade  had  a 
fight  of  its  own. 

The  veteran  Casey  in  his  report  makes  a  statement 
which  favored  the  mistake.  He  says  he  received  no  re 
inforcements  in  his  first  line.  Now  it  is  probable  that 
none  of  the  regiments  I  sent  to  support  Casey's  line  act 
ually  got  quite  up  to  his  redoubt,  but  the  5$th  New  York, 
the  23d  and  6ist  Pennsylvania,  the  7th  Massachusetts, 
and  others  under  Couch  and  Abercrombie  supported  him 
valiantly.  This  is  shown  by  my  report  and  the  reports 
of  Couch,  Peck,  Abercrombie,  and  several  colonels. 

Until  Casey's  line  was  broken,  and  I  confess  he  held  it 
with  masterly  conduct  and  bravery,  I  acted  the  part  of  a 
corps  commander  by  watching  operations  at  a  certain 
distance,  though  I  was  not  a  minute  out  of  the  range  of 
the  enemy's  shot  and  shells.  As  soon  as  Casey's  men 
were  obliged  to  give  ground  to  vastly  superior  numbers, 
and  the'contest  looked  desperate,  I  drew  nigh  the  com 
batants.  I  was  often  in  the  line  of  file  closers,  and  some 
times  at  the  head  of  columns  and  batteries,  leading  them 


Fair  Oaks.  457 

to  new  positions.  I  conducted  the  loth  Massachusetts 
seven  or  eight  hundred  yards  to  a  new  position  at  the 
moment  when  I  thought  a  rout  was  most  imminent. 
See  Byron  Porter's  report — see  also  reports  of  Colonel 
Adams  and  of  West,  Chief  of  Artillery,  and  Miller  and 
Peck.  West  and  Miller  state  in  their  reports  that  I 
placed  the  artillery  in  position  and  continued  to  direct 
the  firings  throughout  the  action. 

Owing  to  mud,  water,  and  thickets,  the  advance  of  the 
enemy  was  in  places  obstructed.  The  passages  through 
which  they  could  approach  I  took  care  to  guard,  and  the 
supports  I  had  sent  to  Casey  were  able  to  make  resistance 
continuous.  The  enemy  had  no  spaces  without  defenders 
to  trot  over  and  gain  confidence. 

Perhaps  the  most  fortunate  order  I  gave  during  the 
day  was  to  General  Couch  early  in  the  action  to  go  with 
two  regiments  to  support  the  right.  He  thought  he 
should  have  had  more  than  two  regiments,  and  I  agreed 
with  him,  but  if  I  had  sent  another  regiment,  I  should 
have  been  certainly  crushed  at  Seven  Pines  before  dark. 
In  my  despatch  to  General  Heintzelman  in  the  beginning 
of  the  battle  I  requested  him  to  send  a  brigade  up  the 
railroad.  He  ordered  Burney's  brigade  up  that  way,  but 
General  Kearny  stopped  him,  and  only  a  small  part  of 
Burney's  command  got  into  action  late  in  the  day.  Couch 
therefore  found  himself  in  a  desperate  strait ;  he  was 
thrust  across  the  railroad,  and  the  enemy  cut  off  his  con 
nection,  and  but  for  the  opportune  arrival  at  5  P.M.  of 
General  E.  V.  Sumner,  who  came  from  the  opposite  bank 
of  the  Chickahominy  over  an  unfinished  bridge,  the  loose 
planks  of  which  were  beginning  to  float,  Couch  must  have 
been  destroyed,  and  the  rebels  would  have  rolled  up  the 
right  of  our  line.  Couch's  conduct  was  admirable,  and 
when  Sumner  joined  him  the  strength  of  our  side  in  that 
20 


45 8  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

quarter  was  sufficient  and  proportionately  much  greater 
than  at  Seven  Pines. 

The  difficulties  of  our  task  on  that  bloody  day  may  be 
more  easily  understood  by  what  General  Joseph  E.  John 
ston,  the  Confederate  chief,  says  in  his  report  of  the 
battle — See  Vol.  5,  p.  96,  Rebellion  Record. 

After  describing  the  rush  by  which  Casey's  line  was 
carried,  he  continues  as  follows : 

The  operation  was  repeated  with  the  same  gallantry  and  success,  as  our 
troops  pursued  their  victorious  career  through  the  enemy's  successive  camps 
and  entrenchments.  At  each  new  position  they  encountered  fresh  troops 
belonging  to  it,  and  reinforcements  brought  up  from  the  rear.  Thus  they 
had  to  repel  repeated  efforts  to  retake  works  which  they  had  carried. 

It  is  true  we  met  the  enemy  and  assailed  him  wherever 
he  showed  himself,  and  General  Johnston  supposed  the 
various  new  lines  of  battle  formed  under  fire  were  with 
fresh  troops.  In  that  he  was  mistaken,  as  all  my  remain 
ing  force  as  well  as  that  brought  up  by  Heintzelman  were 
actually  engaged  soon  after  Casey's  line  gave  way.  Those 
movements  and  the  terrible  fighting  from  half-past  four 
till  half-past  seven  o'clock  have  scarcely  been  noticed  by 
former  historians.  They  have  skipped  over  them  like 
hares,  and  omitted  all  mention  of  the  chiefs  of  corps  in 
command  who  directed  them. 

The  formation  by  me  of  successive  lines  of  battle  under 
fire,  as  described  in  my  report,  though  no  one  has  denied 
the  fact,  has  not,  to  my  knowledge,  been  recorded  in  any 
history.  The  Count  de  Villarceau,  the  one  of  my  aides 
who  (his  English  being  imperfect)  was  near  me  longest, 
wrote  and  sent  off  without  my  dictation  or  knowledge  an 
article  which  was  published  in  the  Courrier  des Etats-Unis 
of  June  21,  1862. 

The  Count  describes  the  dispositions  made  by  me  to 
prevent  surprise,  and  says  I  mounted  my  horse  soon  after 


Fair  Oaks.  459 

the  first  report  of  the  enemy's  cannon,  referring  to  the 
signal  guns  fired  a  little  before  eleven  o'clock,  while  I  was 
speaking  to  the  captured  aide-de-camp  of  General  John 
ston.  He  then  refers  to  the  charge  of  the  55th  Regiment, 
New  York  Volunteers,  composed  wholly  of  Frenchmen, 
and  describes  fully  in  his  own  way  what  I  did  to  resist 
the  advance  of  the  enemy,  and  concluded  as  follows : 

It  is  thus  that  he  (Keyes)  established  in  the  open  fields,  which  offered  no 
natural  defence,  four  consecutive  lines  of  battle.  In  the  fourth  line  he  dis 
mounted  and  mixed  with  the  soldiers,  etc. 

My  report  describes  the  ending  of  the  battle  minutely 
and  refers  in  no  flattering  terms  to  the  officers  and  men 
who  left  the  ranks  and  field  without  orders.  It  cannot 
be  denied  that  there  were  recreants  from  all  the  regi 
ments.  General  I.  N.  Palmer,  whose  brigade  was  as  much 
exposed  as  any,  after  stating  that  he  lost  about  one-third 
of  his  men,  accounts  for  his  casualties  of  all  kinds  in  the 
following  swelling  sentences : 

This  is  sufficient  to  induce  me  to  think  that  while  the  men  did  not,  per 
haps,  act  like  veteran  troops,  they  did  as  well  as  could  be  expected.  For 
the  disasters  of  the  day  those  who  placed  a  small  force  of  the  rawest  troops 
in  the  army  in  a  position  where  they  would  of  necessity  bear  the  brunt  of 
any  attack  on  the  left  must  bear  the  blame.  I  take  none  to  myself. 

General  Casey  speaks  highly  of  the  conduct  of  his 
brigadiers,  Naglee,  Wessels  and  Palmer. 

In  connection  with  my  report  of  the  battle  of  Fair 
Oaks,  I  have  stated  that  no  man  had  accused  me  of  un 
fairness.  For  a  convincing  reason  I  was  made  to  believe 
that  a  son  of  General  Casey  thought  I  had  been  unjust 
to  his  father.  To  dispose  of  such  a  supposition,  by 
whomsoever  it  may  be  entertained,  I  here  produce  the 
copy  of  a  letter,  the  original  of  which  is  in  my  pos 
session  : 


460  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

WASHINGTON,  August  25,  1862. 

DEAR  GENERAL: — You  will  probably  remember  that  while  I  was  at  Poplar 
Ridge  you  informed  me  that  you  had  recommended  me  for  a  brevet.  Inas 
much  as  it  has  not  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  President,  you  would  con 
fer  a  great  favor  by  informing  me  what  disposition  you  made  of  the  recom 
mendation,  and  by  enclosing  me  a  copy.  It  is  a  sad  thought  to  me,  General, 
that  my  brothers  in  arms  are  unwilling  to  do  me  that  justice  which  the  enemy 
are  constantly  making  known.  I  have  felt  gratified  that  you  have  been  dis 
posed  to  do  justice  in  your  report. 

Of  all  the  generals  that  have  commanded  divisions  in  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  I  have  been  made  an  exception.  I  am  resting  under  severe 
injustice. 

If  you  can  say  anything  to  the  President  in  my  favor  respecting  this  mat 
ter,  and  will  enclose  it  to  me,  it  shall  be  remembered.  They  may  have  killed 
me,  but  I  am  not  buried  yet.  I  find  that  I  have  friends  left. 

I  have  been  placed  on  the  duty  of  receiving  and  reorganizing  new  troops, 

and  am  busily  employed. 

Believe  me,  truly  yours, 

[Signed]    SILAS  CASEY,  Brig.  Gen.  Bt. 
Maj-Gen.  E.  Z).  Keyes,  Commanding  %th  Corps, 
Yorkto-wn,  or  Ft.  Monroe,  Va. 

Having  failed  to  discover  in  any  of  the  printed  histories 
of  the  Peninsular  campaign  an  account  of  the  services  of 
the  4th  corps  that  was  not  imperfect,  garbled,  unfair,  or 
shockingly  prejudiced,  I  addressed  a  letter  to  my  former 
chief  of  staff,  Colonel  C.  C.  Suydam,  dated  December  24, 
1877,  from  which  I  extract  the  following: 

We  owe  it  to  the  brave  men  with  whom  we  fought  in  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  to  establish  the  truth  in  regard  to  their  service.  To  that  end  let 
us  appeal  to  the  testimony  of  actual  participants,  and  reject  all  imaginative 
speculations.  How  often  does  the  zeal  of  partisans,  the  fashion  of  a  name 
or  the  blindness  of  sectional  prejudice  determine  the  deserts  of  a  whole  army 
of  men  !  Too  much  of  this  may  be  seen  in  the  books  already  published, 
whereon  many  worthy  names  have  been  ignored,  and  others  blazoned  beyond 
their  merits. 

From  you  I  expect  a  transcript  of  many  transcripts  from  your  field  books, 
and  an  account  of  things  known  to  you,  as  the  chief  of  my  staff,  and  of 
which  the  public  are  now  ignorant. 

My  letter  having  been  circulated  brought  many  replies., 


Surgeon  Hamilton's   Testimony.  461 

some  of  which  were  of  considerable  length.  I  regarded 
those  of  Surgeon  Hamilton  and  Colonel  Suydam  as  the 
most  valuable,  for  the  reason  that  they  had  the  best  op 
portunities  for  observation.  Colonel  Suydam,  though  not 
an  educated  military  man,  had  a  special  aptness  for  his 
duties  as  a  staff  officer,  and  he  was  vigilant  and  hardy.  I 
received  him  as  a  stranger  upon  the  sole  recommendation 
of  Mr.  Charles  King,  late  of  New  York,  a  noble  gentleman, 
long  my  friend,  whose  heart  was  dedicated  to  the  cause. 

Surgeon  Frank  Hamilton,  whose  works  on  military 
surgery  are  standard,  came  a  stranger  to  me  from  General 
Franklin's  division.  He  was  with  me  four  months,  and 
messed  with  me.  Dr.  Hamilton  acted  awhile  as  Medical 
Inspector  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  enjoyed 
ample  opportunities  for  observation  and  comparison. 
Since  he  left  the  army  he  has  written  extensively,  and 
one  of  his  works  he  dedicated  to  me.  He  was  a  consult 
ing  surgeon  with  those  who  attended  President  Garfield 
after  he  was  shot  by  the  assassin  Guiteau.  His  probity 
of  character  is  as  remarkable  as  his  skill  in  his  profession, 
and  as  his  ambition  did  not  clash  with  mine,  I  cite  his 
testimony  with  perfect  confidence. 

Surgeon  Hamilton  drew  a  plan  in  his  note-book  of  the 
field  and  stations  of  the  troops,  and  the  defences  that  had 
been  hastily  constructed  before  the  battle,  and  from 
entries  made  at  the  time  he  sent  me  copious  extracts, 
which  I  will  draw  upon  to  illustrate  my  narrative  as 
required. 

After  referring  to  my  vigilance  and  endurance,  etc., 
he  continues : 

On  the  2gth  of  May  General  Keyes  said  before  myself  and  his  aides, 
when  we  were  lying  at  Seven  Pines  in  a  position  of  great  exposure:  "Our 
position  is  certain  to  tempt  the  enemy  to  attack  us,  and  they  will  do  so  as 
soon  as  it  is  fairly  understood,  and  I  have  so  represented  it  to  the  com- 


462  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

manding  general  repeatedly."  He  was  all  that  day  busy  looking  after  the 
position  of  his  troops. 

On  the  3Oth  General  Keyes  repeated  a  similar  remark. 

On  the  morning  of  the  3ist  young  Washington,  the  aide  of  General 
Johnston,  was  brought  to  our  headquarters  as  a  prisoner.  General  Keyes, 
having  sent  him  to  the  commanding  general,  immediately  ordered  his  horse, 
saying,  "  I'm  going  to  the  front." 

Captain  Oswald  Jackson,  one  of  my  aides,  went  with 
us  and  has  testified  in  writing  to  the  same  fact  and  time. 
Hamilton  continues : 

I  said  to  General  Keyes,  "  If  you  anticipate  a  battle  I  had  better  go  to 
the  front  with  you. "  We  rode  to  the  Nine- Mile  road,  and  turning  to  the 
right  soon  passed  General  Abercrombie's  headquarters.  General  Abercrombie 
was  in  front  of  his  tent  when  General  Keyes  said  to  him,  "  You  had  better 
get  your  men  in  position,  for  I  think  we  are  going  to  be  attacked."  General 
Abercrombie  replied:  "  Can  I  have  time  to  get  something  to  eat?"  "  No, 
you  had  better  do  it  at  once." 

When  we  reached  Fair  Oaks  station,  General  Keyes  called  for  the  colonel 
of  a  Pennsylvania  regiment  and  told  him  to  put  his  men  in  position  and 
prepare  for  an  attack.  I  then  left  him  and  rode  further  to  the  right  to  look 
after  a  building  for  a  temporary  hospital. 

Dr.  Hamilton  states  further  that  after  about  one  hour 
and  a  half  he  "  heard  heavy  firing  of  small  arms,  indicat 
ing  the  commencement  of  the  engagement."  He  states 
also  that "  he  attended  General  Abercrombie  professionally 
previous  to  his  death,  and  they  compared  notes  and 
agreed  that  what  I  [Hamilton]  stated  about  the  General 
[Keyes]  was  substantially  correct." 

The  foregoing  direct  evidence  of  Hamilton,  Abercrom 
bie,  Jackson  and  Villarceau,  with  the  corroborating  testi 
mony  of  Generals  Couch,  Peck,  and  others  in  support  of 
my  own  assertion  of  the  same  facts,  I  trust  will  satisfy 
those  who  may  hereafter  write  of  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks, 
that  I  was  not  surprised,  nor  tardy  in  the  fight. 

I  shall  have  occasion  to  make  further  references  to 
Surgeon  Hamilton's  notes. 


Army  Jealousies.  463 

The  fact  is  well  established  that  on  the  3ist  of  May, 
1862,  my  corps  was  attacked  by,  and  obliged  to  contend 
alone  three  hours  and  more,  and  till  the  end  with  only 
two  of  Heintzelman's  brigades  at  Seven  Pines,  against  the 
grand  divisions  of  A.  P.  Hill,  Longstreet,  G.  W.  Smith, 
and  Huger.  There  I  witnessed  the  heaviest  responsibility 
and  hardest  task  of  my  life.  I  executed  it  better  than  I 
hoped,  and  was  satisfied.  Furthermore  I  gained  con 
firmation  to  my  belief  that  no  man  can  know  who  his 
meanest  enemies  are  until  he  finds  an  opportunity  to  do 
his  best.  In  attestation  of  this  position  I  give  the  follow 
ing  letter  unabridged : 

[PRIVATE.  ] 

CINCINNATI,  Ohio,/«/>/ 10,  1862. 
Major-  General  Keyes. 

SIR  : — Allow  me  to  congratulate  you  on  having  partial  justice  done  you 
and  your  heroic  valor  and  skill  in  battle  recognized  and  rewarded  by  the 
Administration. 

I  told  you  all  would  yet  be  right.  I  knew  that  Secretary  Chase  would 
stand  by  you,  when  he  once  understood  thoroughly  your  merits.  To  make 
him  fully  acquainted  with  them  I  did  all  and  more  than  I  promised  you  I 
would  do.  The  letter  I  wrote  from  your  headquarters  was  copied  by 
Chase's  secretary  (he  informs  me),  and  taken  before  the  Cabinet.  /  met  and 
refuted  charges  of  in  competency  contained  in  a  letter  from  a  person  on  the 
staff  of  one  of  your  brother  corps  commanders,  made  against  you  and  sent  to 
Secretary  Chase  ;  but  of  this  fact  say  nothing  until  I  see  you,  and  I  will  tell 
you  what  a  jealous  set  of  men  you  have  in  the  "Army  of  the  Potomac." 

Count  Villarceau's  account  of  the  ' '  Battle  of  Seven  Pines  "  I  had  trans 
lated  by  a  translator  in  the  Interior  Department  and  made  good  use  of  it. 

I  am  here  with  Miss  Chase  (who  was  very  grateful  for  your  compliments) 
and  am  engaged  in  fixing  up  some  of  the  Governor's  [Chase's]  private  busi 
ness  ;  shall  not  return  to  Washington  for  two  weeks  yet.  If  you  have  time 
amid  your  labors  will  you  please  send  me  some  of  your  autographs  on  the 
inclosed  cards  to  Columbus,  Ohio;  there  are  several  of  the  leading  citizens' 
families  there  who  would  like  greatly  to  have  one  to  put  with  your  cartes  de 
visite  in  their  photographic  albums.  With  great  respect, 

Your  friend  and  obedient  servant, 
[Signed]  D WIGHT  BANNISTER,  P. Mr.,  U.S.A. 


464  Fifty   Years'  Observation. 

On  the  ist  of  August,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
Chase  wrote  me  a  long  letter,  in  which  he  referred  to 
various  interesting  subjects  relating  to  the  President,  the 
war,  and  himself,  in  such  a  confidential  strain  that  the  en 
tire  contents  of  the  letter  would,  I  fear,  excite  controversy. 
I  therefore  reproduce  but  one  of  its  paragraphs,  which 
refers  directly  to  my  enemies  and  me.  The  letter  was 
written  after  I  had  been  breveted  a  Brigadier-General  in 
the  regular  army. 

At  length  your  merits  have  been  properly  recognized  by  the  President 
and  the  Senate  ;  though  you  are  doubtless  aware  that  there  have  not  been 
wanting  those  who  would  have  deprived  you  of  this  recognition  had  it  been 
in  their  power. 

Besides  the  letters  of  the  Paymaster,  Governor  Chase 
and  Senator  Harris,  I  received  many  others  from  approv 
ing  friends,  among  which  were  several  from  ladies — Mrs. 
Carson,  daughter  of  Mr.  Pettigrew,  of  Charleston,  S.  C., 
the  great  Union  patriot,  wrote  me  one  which  I  prized 
greatly.  Nearly  all  the  communications,  written  and 
verbal,  that  reached  me  disclosed  the  activity  of  my 
enemies  of  the  baser  sort.  Their  confusion  could  only  be 
imagined  by  letting  a  full  beam  of  light  into  a  dungeon 
filled  with  bats,  owls,  toads,  snakes,  roaches  and  other 
reptiles.  I  took  no  pains  to  learn  their  names. 

My  notice  of  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks  would  not  be 
complete  without  a  detail  of  some  of  the  apparent  causes 
for  the  numerous  incomplete,  erroneous  and  prejudiced 
histories  of  it.  The  reports  of  the  chiefs  engaged  in  it 
were  published  in  1875,  in  Volume  V.,  "  Military  Reports 
of  the  Rebellion."  Before  1875  access  to  all  the  best 
sources  of  information  was  not  easy,  and  writers  generally 
gave  credit  to  false  or  prejudiced  reports,  and  to  slan 
derers  who  never  lag. 

After   several   unsuccessful   attempts  to  cull  from  an 


The  Count  de  Paris  History.  465 

immense  mass  and  arrange  documents  with  intelligent 
coherence,  the  task  was  assigned  to  Col.  Thomas  Scott. 
He  is  the  genius  of  classification,  and  if  I  blunder  in  my 
citations  he  will  be  best  able  to  detect  me.  He  knows 
more  of  what  was  done  in  the  war  than  the  actors  them 
selves.  It  has  often  happened  that  an  officer  who  was 
clogged  in  his  own  conceits,  and  strayed  from  his  record, 
has  come  to  Scott's  office  to  demand  correction  of  what 
he  declares  is  a  gross  slander,  but  to  find  it  a  true  extract 
from  his  own  report. 

To  show  how  an  honest  author  may  be  deceived,  I  will 
invite  attention  to  the  errors  in  the  description  of  the  bat 
tle  of  Fair  Oaks  in  the  Count  of  Paris'  history  of  the  Civil 
War  in  America— see  Volume  II.  I  select  this  example 
for  two  reasons — first,  because  I  have  a  profound  respect 
for  the  Count,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  various  civilities 
in  France,  and  second,  because  I  have  heard  his  history 
referred  to  as  the  best  that  has  been  written  of  our  Civil 
War.  The  excellent  qualities  of  the  Count  of  Paris  would 
entitle  him  to  great  distinction  if  he  were  of  an  humble 
instead  of  a  royal,  lineage.  He  is  strikingly  correct  in  his 
descriptions  of  other  events  with  which  I  was  familiar ; 
but  his  mistakes  in  regard  to  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks  are 
so  numerous  and  essential,  that  they  could  only  have 
arisen  from  his  reliance  upon  incompetent  authority.  The 
integrity  and  fairness  of  his  intentions  towards  me  I  never 
thought  of  questioning. 

It  was  remarked  in  the  army  that  the  Orleans  Princes, 
J.  J.  Astor,  Wright,  Cutting,  Haven,  Wadsworth  and 
other  sons  of  affluence  were  distinguished  for  subordina 
tion  to  military  rank,  and  for  the  cheerfulness  with  which 
they  sustained  the  hardships  of  war. 

The  following  extracts  are  from  the  Count's  history : 

The  first  works  of  the  Federals,  yet  unfinished,  simple  abatis  or  epaule- 


466  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

ments,  the  profile  of  which  could  not  protect  the  men,  were  occupied  by 
Naglee's  brigade.  This  resisted  energetically,  and  the  division  artillery  di 
rected  by  an  old  officer  of  Regulars,  Colonel  Bailey,  made  great  ravages  in 
the  ranks  of  the  assailants.  .  .  .  The  other  two  brigades  of  Casey  hastened 
to  the  support  of  Naglee,  and  in  spite  of  great  losses  they  held  good  against 
the  Confederates,  whose  numbers  increased  unceasingly. 

The  above  extract  conveys  an  impression  absolutely 
foreign  from  the  truth,  in  the  most  essential  particulars. 

Those  first  unfinished  works  of  ours  (that  is,  the  chief 
and  the  greatest  number  of  artificial  defences),  where 
Bailey  was  killed,  were  on  the  right  and  left  of  the  Wil- 
liamsburg  road,  the  redoubt  being  on  the  left  of  that  road, 
and  fully  a  mile  from  the  railroad,  astride  which,  on 
Casey's  extreme  right,  Naglee's  brigade  was  posted  at  the 
beginning  of  the  action.  The  supports  of  the  redoubt 
were  Wessel's  and  Palmer's  brigades,  and  those  brigades, 
being  hotly  engaged  almost  from  the  beginning  of  the 
action,  could  not  and  did  not  go  to  the  assistance  of  that 
of  Naglee. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  August  4,  1884. 

DEAR  GENERAL  KEYES  : — I  am  in  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  2gth  ult. 
In  regard  to  the  statement  made  by  the  Count  of  Paris,  in  his  history  of  the 
battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  that  "  the  first  works  of  the  Federals  were  occupied  by 
Naglee's  brigade,"  I  can  only  state  that  Naglee's  brigade  was  one  of  those 
comprising  Casey's  division.  When  in  position  at  Seven  Pines,  and  when 
the  engagement  commenced,  I  had  the  left  with  the  3d  Brigade,  Wessels  the 
centre  with  the  2d,  and  Naglee  the  right  with  the  1st.  I  have  never  heard 
before  of  either  of  these  brigades  as  occupying  the  "  first  works  "  on  the 
day  of  the  battles  of  Seven  Pines  and  Fair  Oaks. 

In  reply  to  your  interrogatory,  "  Did  you  or  any  portion  of  your  brigade 
go  to  the  support  of  Naglee's  brigade  ?  "  I  will  state  I  do  not  recollect  of 
ever  receiving  any  order  on  that  day  to  go  to  the  support  of  Naglee  or  of 
sending  any  portion  of  my  brigade  to  his  support. 

In  reply  to  your  question,  "  Did  any  movement  made  by  you  in  the  bat 
tle  of  Fair  Oaks  have  any  reference  to  Naglee's  brigade  ? "  I  will  state  I 
made  on  that  occasion  no  movement  having  any  reference  to  his  brigade. 

In  reply  to  your  question,  "  Did  you  have  anything  to  do  with  General 
Naglee  or  his  orders  or  his  brigade  in  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks  of  May  31, 


The  Count  de  Paris'  History.  467 

1862  ?  "  I  reply  that  I  was  the  senior  brigade  commander  in  Casey's  division 
on  that  day,  and  as  General  Casey  was  present  I  had  nothing  to  do  with 
General  Naglee  or  his  orders. 

I  think,  General,  that  the  Count  gets  things  a  little  mixed  in  some  parts 
of  his  history  of  this  battle,  and  that  the  information  on  which  some  of  his 
statements  are  based  was  not  always  reliable. 

I  remain,  General,  very  truly  yours, 
[Signed]  I.  N.  PALMER. 

General  E.  D.  Keyes. 

From  the  letter  of  August  8,  1884,  written  to  me  by 
Brig.  H.  W.  Wessels,  commanding  Casey's  centre  brigade, 
I  extract  the  following — he  repeats  my  question : 

QUESTION. — Did  you  have  anything  to  do  with  General  Naglee,  or  his 
orders  or  his  brigade  in  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks  ? 

ANSWER. — No. 

QUESTION. — Did  any  movement  made  by  you  in  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks 
have  any  reference  to  Naglee's  brigade  ? 

ANSWER. — No. 

The  following  is  another  extract  from  the  Count  of 
Paris'  history: 

Bailey  is  killed  upon  the  cannon  which  he  has  just  spiked,  and  seven 
pieces  remain  in  the  hands  of  the  assailants.  It  is  just  3  o'clock,  precisely. 
At  this  moment  Peck's  brigade  of  Couch's  division  arrived  from  Seven  Pines 
led  by  Keyes,  who  had  been  notified  a  little  late  of  the  gravity  of  the  com 
bat. 

It  often  occurs  that  the  most  envenomed  slanders  are 
mingled  with  beneficent  truths,  and  the  above  extract  is 
an  apt  example.  It  is  true  the  gallant  Bailey  was  killed, 
and  the  guns  in  the  little  fort  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy  because  all  the  horses  had  been  killed  on  the  out 
side  of  it.  But  the  charge  that  it  was  3  o'clock  P.M.,  at 
which  precise  moment  I  appeared  on  the  field  with  Peck's 
brigade,  in  obedience  to  a  tardy  notification  that  a  great 
battle  was  raging,  is  an  unqualified  falsehood.  I  never 
suspected  the  existence  of  this  foul  charge  till  the  month 


468  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

of  September,  1880.  Eighteen  years  and  upwards  had 
passed,  and  I  had  never  known,  or  suspected,  that  I  had 
been  accused  of  being  late  at  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks. 

The  simple  facts  of  the  case  are  as  follows  :  I  had  not 
been  off  the  field  where  the  battle  was  fought  for  thirty- 
six  hours,  as  my  tent  was  close  up  with  Couch's  line  and 
within  full  view  and  hearing  of  Casey's  redoubt  and  the 
centre  of  his  line.  On  the  morning  of  the  battle,  that  is, 
of  the  3 1st  of  May,  1862,  in  anticipation  of  an  attack,  I 
gave  orders  to  General  Couch  to  advance  Peck's  brigade, 
(that  is,  Peck  received  the  order  at  1 1  o'clock  A.M !) 
and  then  directly  afterwards  I  mounted  my  horse  at  pre 
cisely  1 1  o'clock  A.M.,  and  proceeded  to  examine  my  lines 
from  the  Williamsburg  road  to  Fair  Oaks  station, 
Surgeon  Frank  Hamilton,  chief  of  my  medical  staff,  and 
Captain  Oswald  Jackson,  aide  de  camp,  accompanying  me, 
I  went  as  far  as  the  railroad.  On  my  way  over  /  met 
Colonel  Bailey  at  a  considerable  distance  from  his  guns, 
stopped  him,  told  him  that  there  was  going  to  be  a  fight,  and 
ordered  him  to  proceed  quickly  and  prepare  his  batteries.  I 
also  stopped  to  converse  with,  and  give  orders  to,  General 
Abercrombie  to  prepare  for  an  immediate  attack.  I  gave 
other  orders,  but  made  no  changes  of  position,  because 
none  appeared  necessary.  Neither  during  the  battle,  nor 
since,  have  I  had  reason  to  regret  or  find  fault  with  the 
orders  I  gave  or  the  movements  made  by  the  troops  of 
my  corps.  It  appears  strange  that  none  of  those  who 
sought  to  destroy  me  have  ever  resorted  to  direct  charges 
of  misconduct,  but  they  have  been  content  to  misrepre 
sent  or  ignore  me  and  allow  my  name  to  fade  in  silence. 
My  examinations  continued  about  an  hour,  and  I  had 
some  time  to  spare  after  I  had  taken  up  a  most  favor 
able  position  to  observe  the  whole  field,  which  was  about 
midway  between  Casey's  and  Couch's  lines,  from  whence 


The  Count  de  Paris   History.  469 

I  saw  the  columns  of  the  enemy  issuing  from  the  woods  at 
about  12:30  M.  Surgeon  Hamilton,  as  I  before  remarked, 
took  notes  of  the  above-described  reconnoissance  at  the 
time  it  was  made,  and  to  his  testimony  I  refer  in  support 
of  my  present  statements,  and  those  contained  in  my 
report  of  the  battle. 

Referring  to  alleged  delays  on  our  side  as  well  as  on  the 
side  of  the  enemy,  the  Prince  says:  "Notwithstanding 
their  surprise,  the  Federals  had  lost  a  little  less  time." 

In  regard  to  the  above  charge,  I  assert  that  if  I  had 
known  with  certainty  that  the  attack  would  be  made  at 
the  moment  it  was  made,  I  could  not  have  been  better 
prepared  than  I  was,  and  General  Casey  emphatically 
denied  that  he  was  surprised. 

I  am  constrained  to  transcribe  another  passage  from 
the  history  of  the  royal  Prince  which  refers  to  the  con 
duct  of  brave  men,  yet  its  conclusions,  being  founded 
upon  wrong  premises  and  gross  errors,  are  monstrously 
unjust : 

The  Government,  always  animated  by  a  secret  jealousy  against  General 
McClellan,  seldom  communicated  to  the  public  the  news  it  received  from 
him  ;  but  after  a  battle  like  this  silence  was  impossible,  and  it  caused  the 
first  dispatch  from  the  commander-in-chief  (McClellan)  to  be  printed.  Un 
fortunately  the  latter,  deceived  by  the  report  of  Heintzelman,  cast  unjust 
blame  upon  Casey's  division.  This  dispatch  was  corrected  in  Washington, 
but  in  a  manner  to  aggravate  the  pernicious  effect  of  the  error  it  contained. 
The  unmerited  censure  was  allowed  to  remain,  while  the  praise  which 
McClellan  awarded  to  Sumner  was  suppressed.  The  general-in-chief  soon 
re-established  the  truth,  and  it  was  known  that  the  army  had  been  saved  by 
the  tenacity  of  Naglee  and  Bailey,  by  the  order  that  Kearny  had  communi 
cated  to  the  brigades  of  Jameson  and  Berry,  and  finally  by  the  indomitable 
energy  of  the  aged  Sumner. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  General  McClellan  was 
ill  in  bed  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Chickahominy  on 
the  3 1st  of  May,  and  he  was  therefore  obliged  to  judge 


470  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

by  reports  of  the  conduct  of  officers  engaged.  He  never 
consulted  me,  and  I  was  told  that  he  was  much  confused 
by  the  various  statements  made  to  him  by  individuals. 

I  am  ignorant  of  the  circumstances  which  led  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  army  was  saved  in  the  way  and  by  the 
officers  above  referred  to,  but  the  justice  of  that  conclu 
sion  I  deny  emphatically.  Leaving  myself  apart  and  my 
name  to  be  placed  where,  after  a  careful  examination  of 
all  reports  in  which  my  name  occurs,  it  properly  belongs, 
I  can  with  confidence  assert  that  it  would  have  been 
more  in  accordance  with  equity  and  truth  to  say  the  army 
was  saved  by  Casey,  Couch  and  Heintzelman,  instead  of 
Naglee,  Kearny  and  Sumner.  My  personal  predilections 
have  nothing  to  do  with  this  decision. 

General  E.  V.  Sumner  was  one  of  the  best  instructed 
line  officers  in  the  army.  His  bravery  was  beyond  dis 
pute,  and  his  untiring  energy  was  never  more  remarkable 
than  when  he  crossed  the  Chickahominy  and  came  into 
action  to  assist  Couch,  who  was  across  the  railroad,  and 
Abercrombie  at  5  P.  M.  on  the  3ist.  After  the  junction 
of  those  officers  they  were  comparatively  stronger  to  cope 
with  the  enemy  in  front  of  them  than  Heintzelman  and 
I  were  at  Seven  Pines,  where,  as  the  Count  of  Paris  cor 
rectly  says,  the  most  of  the  fighting  was  done  on  that 
day. 

In  regard  to  Philip  Kearny,  I  had  been  his  intimate 
associate  and  correspondent  for  more  than  twenty  years 
before  the  war.  His  bravery  and  dash  were  proverbial, 
and  never  questioned  by  any  one.  He  was  rich  by  in 
heritance,  profuse  in  his  generosity,  and  polite  in  society. 
His  occasional  rashness  in  the  pursuit  of  fame,  and  his 
lack  of  reserve  when  opposed  or  thwarted  in  his  ambi 
tion,  were  also  well  understood.  He  lost  an  arm  in  the 
Mexican  War,  and  was  killed  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion. 


General  Kearny.  471 

It  seems  superfluous,  therefore,  to  impute  to  General 
Kearny  an  exploit  which  the  truth  could  in  any  manner 
qualify.  The  Count  refers  to  his  entry  into  the  battle  as 
follows  : 

At  half-past  3  o'clock  Kearny,  who  knew  no  obstacles,  as  soon  as  he 
heard  the  sounds  of  cannon  arrived  from  Seven  Pines  with  two  brigades 
(Berry's  and  Jameson's),  and  his  opportune  presence  re-established  for  a 
moment  the  combat. 

It  is  true  that  Kearny  came  up  and  got  into  action 
fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  after  4  o'clock  P.M.,  but  he 
came  in  obedience  to  the  orders  of  his  corps  commander. 
He  was  opposed  by  greatly  superior  numbers,  and  in  a 
short  time  his  force  and  all  around  him  were  repulsed 
and  scattered.  He  remained  longer  on  the  field,  but  he 
did  not  at  any  time  cross  the  Williamsburg  road,  where 
so  much  heavy  fighting  was  done  during  the  last  two 
hours  of  the  battle,  nor  was  he  near  that  road  when 
Heintzelman  and  I  formed  the  last  line  of  battle  across  it 
and  repulsed  the  enemy. 

The  credit  given  to  Kearny  by  the  Count  for  "  know 
ing  no  obstacles  as  soon  as  he  heard  the  sounds  of  can 
non,"  is  essentially  qualified  in  this  instance  by  what 
Surgeon  Hamilton  wrote  in  his  note-book  at  the  time, 
and  there  was  not  a  man  in  the  army  more  truthful  than 
he. 

The  doctor  says  that  while  he  was  on  his  way  to  Sav 
age's  Station  to  establish  a  general  field  hospital,  he 
"  met  General  Kearny,  who  was  standing,  unmounted, 
not  far  from  his  headquarters,  and  who  inquired :  '  Doc 
tor,  have  you  just  come  from  the  front?'  'Yes,  sir,'  I 
replied.  '  How  is  it  going  ? '  said  the  general.  '  We  are 
pressed  very  hard,'  I  replied,  '  but  I  think  we  are  holding 
our  own.'  To  which  the  general  answered  quickly  :  *  Why 


472  Fifty   Years'  Observation. 

^don't  General  Keyes  send  for  me  ?  I  have  been  waiting 
an  hour.' ' 

In  the  report  of  General  Birney,  to  which  I  invite 
especial  attention,  he  speaks  at  length  of  orders  given  him 
by  General  Kearny,  who  was  his  division  commander. 
Kearny  appeared  to  think  from  the  number  of  runaways 
that  a  rout  in  front  was  imminent,  and  he  stopped  Bir- 
ney's  advance  up  the  railroad.  I  confess  the  sight  of  such 
a  crowd  of  recreants  was  alarming,  and  enough  to  prevent 
the  knightly  Kearny  from  obeying  "  the  first  sounds  of 
cannon."  If  the  truth  could  be  told  I  have  no  doubt  that 
among  the  dastards  who  deserted  their  fellows  in  the  fight 
there  are  many  who  are  now  living  who  are  the  most  ex 
pensive  pensioners  and  greatest  boasters  living.  When 
Colonel  Suydam,  my  chief  of  staff,  left  me  and  Heintzel- 
man  to  carry  orders  to  Birney,  we  were  still  in  the  fight 
and  over  a  mile  away.  The  words  "  to  the  rear,"  used  by 
Birney,  might  be  understood  to  mean  that  we  were  in  a 
place  of  personal  safety. 

I  now  proceed  to  give  my  attention  to  Brigadier  Gen 
eral  Henry  M.  Naglee,  upon  whom  the  Count  of  Paris 
has  bestowed  extraordinary  praise,  and  upon  whom  he 
seems  to  rely  extensively.  In  justice  to  my  own  corps, 
and  in  my  own  self-defence,  I  must  pour  upon  that  gen 
tleman,  his  works  and  disposition,  sufficient  light  to 
enable  the  reader  to  understand  him  fully.  In  addition 
to  what  I  have  already  quoted  from  the  Count's  books, 
that  author  in  a  note  at  the  end  of  his  second  or  third 
volume  cites  Naglee's  report  to  establish  the  positions  of 
Peck's  and  Deven's  brigades,  although  they  belonged  to 
Couch's  division !  Also,  upon  the  same  authority  of 
Naglee's  report,  the  author  states  that  the  rest  of  Keyes' 
corps  lost  possession  of  Seven  Pines.  These  facts  and 
references  should  be  kept  in  mind  while  reading  what 


General  Naglee's  Report.  473 

follows.  It  must  also  be  remembered  that  General  Casey 
and  I  both  made  honorable  mention  of  Naglee,  and  it 
was  more  than  once  hinted  to  me  that  he  received  his 
full  meed  of  praise,  and  even  more,  in  proportion,  than 
was  given  to  other  officers. 

I  forwarded  my  report  of  the  battle  before  I  received 
that  of  Naglee.  He  only  remained  a  short  time  with  his 
brigade,  and  I  did  not  require  a  report  from  him  of  the 
operations  of  the  other  brigades,  the  divisions  or  the 
corps,  nor  of  his  own  conduct  while  in  my  sight. 

In  reading  his  report,  one  might  suppose  that  Naglee, 
not  Casey,  commanded  the  divisions.  It  might  even  be 
inferred  that  he  was  the  chief  of  the  4th  Corps,  although 
I  fail  to  discover  in  his  florid  composition  any  designation 
of  such  an  organization,  or  any  mention  of  my  name, 
although  I  gave  him  many  verbal  orders  on  the  field  while 
I  employed  him  as  a  staff-officer. 

The  following  commentary  was  enclosed  and  forwarded 
to  Headquarters  with  Naglee's  report — See  No.  98,  Mili 
tary  Reports  of  the  Rebellion,  page  294: 

HEADQUARTERS,  4th  CORPS,     > 
Near  SEVEN  PINES,  June  20,  1862.  \ 

SIR  : — I  have  the  honor  to  enclose  the  report  of  Brigadier  General  H.  M. 
Naglee,  who  commanded  the  First  Brigade  of  Casey's  Division  in  the  battle 
of  May  31.  His  brigade  was  composed  of  the  $2d  and  iO4th  Pennsyl 
vania,  the  nth  Maine,  and  the  56th  and  looth  New  York  Volunteers. 

General  Naglee's  report  did  not  arrive  in  time  to  be  forwarded  with  my 
report  of  the  battle.  The  paper  he  has  now  furnished  contains  matter 
which  will  lead  to  angry  controversies,  and  ought  not,  in  my  opinion,  to  ap 
pear  in  its  present  form  among  the  reports  of  the  battle. 

The  objections  to  General  Naglee's  report  are  the  following  : 

1st.  It  refers  to  the  movements  of  the  4th  Corps,  or  part  of  it,  for  several 
days  prior  to  and  in  the  battle,  and  it  is  not  his  province  to  refer  to  them  in 
his  report  of  the  battle  further  than  to  give  the  position  of  the  troops  of  his 
own  brigade. 

2d.  General  Naglee  states  that  he  gave  orders  to  other  troops  beside  his 


474  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

own  brigade  without  giving  the  authority  for  so  doing.  To  allow  such  a 
practice  to  subordinate  commanders  without  stating  reasons  to  justify  it 
would  have  a  most  disorganizing  tendency. 

3d.  General  Naglee  has  referred  to  a  line  of  battle  formed  in  rear  of,  and 
near  to,  the  Nine-Mile  road  in  a  manner  which  seems  to  convey  the  impres 
sion  that  the  line  there  formed  was  about  the  termination  of  the  battle.  It 
is  certain,  however,  that  two  other  distinct  lines  of  battle  stoutly  resisted 
the  enemy  after  the  one  above  referred  to.  As  General  Naglee  does  not 
refer  to  his  being  near  the  first  of  the  last  two  lines,  and  as  I  did  not  see 
him  there,  I  infer  he  was  not  present.  In  the  last  line  of  battle  formed  dur 
ing  the  day,  and  which  line  stayed  the  advance  of  the  enemy,  I  know  Gen 
eral  Naglee  was  not  present. 

4th.  General  Naglee's  report  conveys  the  idea,  I  think,  that  one  division, 
cr  one  brigade,  of  the  4th  corps  did  nearly  all  the  fighting  on  the  3ist,  and 
that  the  other  divisions  did  very  little  fighting. 

5th.  Having  mentioned  General  Naglee  favorably  in  my  report  of  the 
battle,  I  respectfully  request  that  the  paper  now  forwarded  from  him  as  his 
report  may  be  returned  to  me  as  objectionable  for  the  reasons  above  stated. 
I  will  then  require  Biigadier  General  Naglee  to  report  the  operations  of  his 
own  brigade  during  the  battle  of  May  31.  At  the  same  time  I  would 
intimate  to  him  that  if  he  desires  to  describe  the  operations  of  the  4th 
corps,  or  of  General  Casey's  division,  or  the  conduct  of  individuals  not 
under  his  command,  or  his  own  conduct  generally,  there  will  be  no  ob 
jection  to  his  doing  so  in  a  separate  paper. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

E.  D.  KEYES, 

Brig.   Gen.    Comd'g,    $th    Corps. 
To  Brigadier  General  S.    Williams,  Adjt.   Gen.,  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

True  copy  from  original  iu  the  official  reports  of  the  Peninsular  Campaign. 

[Signed]  SCOTT,  U.  S.  A. 

February  14,  1881. 

In  the  above  commentary  I  express  a  doubt  of  the 
presence  of  General  Naglee  in  the  line  of  battle  which 
\vas  next  the  last  that  was  formed.  That  doubt  was  in 
creased  to  a  conviction  by  what  he  told  me  afterwards, 
lie  said  he  was  over  at  a  Anderson's  saw-mill,  where  he 
saw  General  Kearny  and  another  general  officer.  That 
saw-mill  is  the  one  referred  to  by  General  Jameson  of 
Kearny's  division.  The  mill  is  one  mile  to  the  left  and 


General  Naglee.  475 

rear  of  Seven  Pines  towards  White  Oak  swamp,  and  two 
miles  from  Naglee's  first  position  in  the  battle.  At  that 
time  the  road  to  it  was  crooked,  muddy  and  difficult,  and 
probably  not  another  man  but  General  Naglee  of  Casey's 
first  brigade  was  within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  that  mill 
during  the  day. 

After  being  at  the  mill  Naglee  certainly  returned  to  the 
Williamsburg  road,  where  I  saw  him  under  the  following 
well-remembered  circumstances. 

After  I  had  placed  the  loth  Massachusetts  in  the  gap 
of  the  last  line  of  battle  but  one,  as  mentioned  in  my  re 
port,  I  remained  near  it  enveloped  in  smoke.  The  rebels 
pressed  and  enfiladed  the  left  of  that  line  so  hard,  150 
yards  from  me,  that  it  gave  way — the  infantry  ran,  and 
the  artillery  limbered  up  and  drove  furiously  away.  See 
ing  the  last  piece  where  the  Williamsburg  road  entered 
the  woods,  rode  with  all  speed  to  rally  the  fugitives.  At 
least  a  half-mile  from  the  line  I  had  left,  I  saw  General 
Naglee  in  the  road  walking  his  horse  towards  Bottom's 
bridge.  He  told  me  he  was  entirely  exhausted,  and  I 
allowed  him  to  continue.  He  crossed  the  Chickahominy 
and  passed  the  night  on  the  opposite  side  of  that  stream. 

I  succeeded,  with  the  assistance  of  my  staff,  in  turning 
back  a  large  number,  with  whom  and  others  who  had 
stood  fast  I  formed  another,  and  the  last,  line  of  battle 
on  the  left  in  the  twilight,  while  General  Heintzelman 
formed  it  on  the  right,  and  that  line  repulsed  the  enemy 
and  ended  the  fight  of  the  3 1st,  at  Seven  Pines.  General 
Naglee  was  certainly  not  near  that  line,  and  I  estimate 
that  he  quit  the  field  one  hour  before  I  left  it.  I  need 
say  no  more  concerning  Naglee's  remarks  upon  the  posi 
tions  of  Peck,  Couch  and  Devens,  nor  of  that  stupendous 
phrase  which  terminates  one  of  the  paragraphs  of  his 
report  in  the  following  words  :  "  and  when  at  dark  the 


Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

enemy  swept  all  before  him,  we  were  the  last  to  leave 
the  field  !  " 

In  regard  to  the  movement  of  the  55th  New  York, 
General  Peck,  to  whose  brigade  that  regiment  of  gallant 
Frenchmen  belonged,  has  the  following :  "  At  I  o'clock 
P.M.  (it  should  have  been  2  o'clock)  General  Keyes, 
commanding  4th  corps,  detached  the  55th  N.  Y.  Volun 
teers  under  Lieut.-Col.  Thourot  from  my  command,  and 
led  it  into  position  himself."  I  did  detach  that  regiment 
because  I  saw  it  was  needed  by  General  Casey,  not  at 
Naglee's  suggestion,  and  rode  at  its  head  three  or  four 
hundred  yards,  and  while  it  filed  to  the  left  into  the  Wil- 
liamsburg  road  I  ordered  Naglee  to  go  on  with  it  to  save 
the  guns,  etc.  See  Lieut-Col.  Thourot's  report. 

Naglee  refers,  in  his  report,  to  the  55th  as  follows: 
"  At  half-past  3  P.M.  I  rode  to  the  rear  and  I  led  up 
the  55th  N.  Y.,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Thourot."  Peck  says 
the  time  was  I,  Thourot  says  1:30,  Naglee  3:30.  It  was, 
in  fact,  about  2  o'clock  P.M.,  certainly  not  later  than  2. 

The  gallant  Bailey  is  unfortunately  not  alive  to  thank 
General  Naglee  for  his  congratulations  and  directions  on 
the  field.  Bailey  was  a  noble  soldier.  The  last  time  I 
saw  him  was  one  hour  before  the  battle  commenced,  when 
he  was  on  his  way  to  Fair  Oaks  station.  I  told  him  to 
return  and  prepare  his  batteries  for  action. 

For  my  part  I  am  unable  to  consider  General  Naglee's 
report  of  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks  as  a  reliable  document 
for  its  history.  General  D.  N.  Couch's  report  is  essentially 
important.  The  credit  given  to  Naglee's  report,  and  to 
its  author,  by  the  Count  of  Paris,  if  by  chance  they  met, 
justifies  me  in  speaking  further  of  Naglee  and  of  his  pecu 
liar  traits  as  an  officer,  his  bravery  and  energy  being  con 
sidered  by  me  unquestionable. 

In  all  armies  there  is  a  class  of  men  who  are  at  variance 


The  Field  Revisited.  477 

with  their  commanding  officer.  Of  that  class,  so  far  as  my 
reading  and  military  experience  extends,  Henry  M.  Naglee 
is  entitled  to  stand  head.  He  came  to  my  corps  from 
General  Hooker's  division,  and  at  his  first  interview  with 
me  he  discharged  a  tirade  of  maledictions  against  that 
officer,  which  made  so  slight  an  impression  that,  if  Hooker 
had  rifled  me  of  my  fondest  hopes,  it  would  not  have 
occurred  to  me  to  allege  a  word  that  Naglee  had  said 
against  him  by  way  of  revenge  or  justification. 

I  am  not  certain  that  Naglee  was  ever  under  the  com 
mand  of  General  Sumner,  but  the  following  circumstance 
induces  me  to  suppose  he  had  been  subject  to  that  old 
hero's  orders.  Not  long  after  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks, 
several  members  of  Congress  came  down  to  the  camps. 
Naglee,  being  informed  of  their  approach,  went  down  the 
road  and  intercepted  them.  He  told  me  afterwards  that  he 
found  an  opportunity  to  tell  them  what  had  been  done, 
and  he  trusted  he  had  told  them  enough  to  prevent  old 
Sumner  from  getting  a  brevet !  Such  is  the  epic  poetry 
of  war.  Wonder  what  he  said  about  a  brevet  for  me  ? 

In  the  month  of  May,  1884,  I  was  invited  by  the  sur 
vivors  of  the  6ist  Pennsylvania  Volunteers  to  accompany 
them  and  visit  the  field  of  Fair  Oaks  on  its  twenty- 
second  anniversary.  That  brave  regiment  lost  one-third  of 
its  number,  including  its  colonel,  Rippey,  and  all  its  other 
field  and  staff  officers,  and  all  the  captains  were  killed 
or  disabled  down  to  the  8th  captain,  Orr,  who  assumed 
command  on  the  field.  It  was  full  of  heroes,  and  I  gladly 
accepted  the  cordial  invitation  of  its  survivors,  which 
contained  in  its  reference  to  me  the  following  words  : 
"  Our  Corps  Commander,  to  whom  is  due  all  the  honor 
of  the  victory,  orders  and  so-called  history  notwithstand- 
ing." 

On  the  field  I  found  some  difficulty  in  recognizing  its 


478  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

features.  The  trees  had  been  cut  down  in  some  places, 
and  had  grown  up  in  others,  and  all  the  mud  and  stand 
ing  water  had  given  place  to  dry,  hard  ground.  An  old 
settler,  who  was  one  of  General  Johnston's  guides  before 
and  in  the  battle,  assisted  me  in  finding  where  the  rifle 
pits,  abatis  and  epaulements  had  been,  and  after  I  had 
pointed  out  the  position  of  the  last  lines  of  battle  I 
called  on  him  and  he  showed  the  same  positions  that  I 
had  given.  Going  over  to  our  right  beyond  the  railroad, 
I  had  the  help  of  a  man  who  was  in  the  fight  there  to 
study  Couch's  position  when  he  was  cut  off,  and  where 
Sumner  came  to  extricate  him.  Looking  around  upon 
the  favorable  approaches  there  I  felt  terrified  to  think  of 
the  danger  my  troops  were  in  twenty-two  years  ago,  and 
I  was  ready  to  exclaim,  Why  did  not  Johnston  attack  us 
there  ?  As  it  was,  if  I  had  known  then  all  I  know  now,  I 
would  have  said  and  done  exactly  the  same,  in  the  posi 
tion  to  which  my  corps  was  assigned. 

Subsequent  to  the  termination  of  the  Peninsular  cam 
paign  General  Naglee  was  under  my  command  at  York- 
town,  from  whence  he  was  detached  and  placed  on  duty 
at  Newbern,  N.  C. 

Our  separation  gave  rise  to  the  following  correspond 
ence,  in  which  the  writers,  in  terms  succinct,  record  their 
mutual  military  repugnance : 

HEADQUARTERS  NAGLF.E'S  DIVISION,  i 
NEWBERN,  June  12,  1863.  j" 

GENERAL  : — I  am  most  happy  to  advise  you  that  I  have  been  transferred 
with  my  brigade  into  the  Department  of  North  Carolina. 

It  may  be  equally  agreeable  and  satisfactory  to  you,  as  it  certainly  is  to 
myself,  to  be  assured  that  the  separation  will  be  a  permanent  one. 

H.  M.  NAGLEE. 
To  Maj.-Gen.  Erasmus  D,  Keyes,  Commanding,  <SrV.,  <SrV. 


General  Naglee  s  Vineyard.  479 

HEADQUARTERS,  4th  CORPS,  \ 
YORKTOWN,  June  25,  1863.  f 

GENERAL  :— Your  letter  of  the  i$th  instant  has  been  received. 
The  happiness  you  express  in  your  announcement  of  a  permanent  separa 
tion  from  me  is,  I  assure  you,  most  cordially  reciprocated.  I  will  add,  with 
the  risk  of  being  thought  to  exaggerate,  that  I  do  not  believe  anyone  of  your 
previous  commanding  officers  was  made  more  happy  at  parting  with  you 
than  I  was. 

Very  respectfully,  etc., 

[Signed]  E.  D.  KEYES. 

Brig.  II.  M.  Naglee,  U.  S.   Volunteers. 

The  scope  of  this  work  allows,  and  my  own  feelings 
suggest,  an  allusion  to  General  Naglee  after  we  had  both 
withdrawn  from  the  strife  of  war  and  put  off  our  armor 
to  don  the  habiliments  of  peace  and  utility. 

Naglee  dwells  in  San  Jose,  California,  where  he  owns  a 
vineyard  and  a  vast  establishment.  When  he  comes  to 
San  Francisco  we  meet  and  talk  in  a  friendly  vein  of  our 
affairs,  which  can  in  no  way  ever  clash.  He,  or  one  of 
his  agents,  put  into  my  hand  a  small  pamphlet  which  de 
scribes  the  virtues  of  his  vinicultural  products.  It  is  ac 
knowledged  that  the  brandy  he  distils  is  the  best  that  is 
made,  and  it  has  been  adopted  for  the  use  of  our  army 
hospitals.  While  I  read  Naglee's  description  of  his  prod 
ucts,  I  was  enlivened  by  the  lucid  clearness  and  beauty 
of  his  style,  and  I  arose  from  its  perusal  persuaded  that 
all  who  desire  long  life  and  exemption  from  every  known 
malady  will  be  gratified  if  they  drink  freely  of  Naglee's 
Brandy. 

But  he  will  have  his  own  way.  He  owned  a  large 
ranche  as  tenant  in  common  with  my  friend  McDermott, 
who  is  a  man  of  positive  convictions.  Mac  often  amused 
me  relating  his  disputes  with  Naglee,  till  one  day  he  told 
him  they  had  divided  their  interest.  Then  I  said  to  him  : 
"  In  all  the  business  you  have  had  for  sp  many  years  with . 


480  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

Naglee  about  that  ranche,  did  he  ever  agree  with  a  sug 
gestion  you  made  to  him  ?  " 
"  Never." 

"  Thus  he  spake,  and  speaking  sighed." 

The  part  taken  by  my  corps  and  me  in  the  change  of 
base  to  the  James  River,  and  my  service  as  commander 
of  the  rear  guard  after  the  battle  of  Malvern  Hill,  are  de 
scribed  in  my  report ;  see  page  560,  Military  Reports  of 
the  Rebellion. 

I  received  my  orders  from  General  McClellan  at  I 
o'clock  A.  M.,  June  28,  to  place  the  great  bulk  of  my 
corps  across  White  Oak  Swamp  before  daylight  of  that 
morning.  When  I  arrived  at  the  swamp  at  the  head  of 
my  column  the  new  bridge  was  not  suffiicently  complete 
to  allow  the  passage  of  a  wheel  vehicle.  I  passed  over 
soon  after  sunrise  and  called  up  a  farmer  who  was  a  resi 
dent  of  the  place,  and  required  him  to  describe  to  me, 
under  fine  of  death,  all  the  roads  and  paths  leading  to  the 
James  River,  as  well  as  those  leading  to  and  from  Rich 
mond.  He  was  intelligent,  and  gave  so  clear  a  descrip 
tion  that  I  ordered  the  first  brigades  of  infantry  and  the 
artillery  that  came  over  the  bridge  to  advance  about  four 
miles  to  a  point  near  the  junction  of  the  Quaker  road  to 
the  James,  and  the  road  to  Richmond.  Peck  and  Couch, 
division  commanders,  and  Palmer's  and  Wessel's  brigades 
were  the  first  to  arrive,  and  I  refer  to  my  report  for  fur 
ther  particulars  and  the  names  of  officers  and  companies 
who  distinguished  themselves  in  repelling  a  spirited  as 
sault  of  rebel  cavalry  on  the  morning  of  the  29th,  which 
resulted  in  a  loss  to  the  enemy  of  about  eighty  and  no 
damage  to  us. 

I  was  close  at  hand  when  the  assault  was  made,  and 
while  the  dismounted  prisoners  were  passing  within  our 


The  Change  of  Base.  481 

line  General  McClellan  came  up  accompanied  by  the 
Prince  of  Joinville.  The  general  seemed  pleased  with 
everything  he  saw,  and  the  tone  of  confidence  and  ap 
proval  in  which  he  addressed  me  was  in  absolute  contrast 
with  his  previous  salutations  to  me  during  the  cam 
paign. 

My  corps  being  in  the  advance  I  received  orders  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  same  day  to  move  my  whole  force  to  the 
James  River  by  the  line  of  my  own  choice,  to  secure  Tur 
key  bridge,  etc. 

The  Quaker  road  was  the  one  in  use,  and  there  was 
another  old  abandoned  road  below  it,  running  nearly 
parallel  and  distant  from  one  to  two  miles.  No  wheel 
vehicle  had  passed  over  the  old  road  in  the  last  five  years, 
and  it  was  in  many  places  concealed  by  vines  and  bushes 
and  much  encumbered  with  fallen  trees.  Before  I  had 
any  reason  to  suppose  I  should  be  called  on  to  use  that 
road  it  had  been  brought  to  my  attention  by  Captain 
Keenan,  of  Colonel  D.  McGregg's  8th  Pennsylvania 
Cavalry,  but  the  particular  knowledge  which  decided  me 
to  pass  over  it  I  derived  from  the  farmer  above  re 
ferred  to. 

The  Count  of  Paris  correctly  describes  the  uncertainty 
at  headquarters  until  it  was  learned,  as  he  remarks,  that 
"  Keyes  had,  by  chance,  discovered"  the  old  road  in  ques 
tion.  The  discovery  was  almost  of  inestimable  advan 
tage,  and  over  it  I  made  my  labored  way  by  the  light  of 
lanterns  for  the  choppers  and  workers,  and  at  sunrise  on 
the  3<Dth  I  posted  a  strong  force  to  hold  Turkey  bridge. 
The  Count  says  there  passed  in  safety  over  that  old  road 
400  carriages,  500  ambulances,  350  field-pieces,  50  siege 
guns,  and  2,500  head  of  beeves.  If  they  had  all  been 
crowded  upon  the  Quaker  road  the  embarrassment  to  the 
army  might  have  been  fatal. 

21 


482  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

The  following  is  from  the  notes  kept  by  Dr.  Hamilton : 

He  [Keyes]  kept  his  scouts  always  on  the  alert,  and  soon  made  himself 
acquainted  with  all  the  roads  to  the  James  River.  This  knowledge 
possessed  probably  by  no  other  officer  of  his  rank  to  the  same  extent,  proved 
of  inestimable  value  to  us  on  our  retreat,  which  was  led  by  General  Keyes's 
column.  All  the  way  across  the  same  untiring  vigilance  was  noticeable, 
and  I  was  unable  to  discover  when  the  General  ate  or  slept. 

The  doctor  has  more  to  say  in  regard  to  my  endurance 
when  he  fell  asleep  from  weariness,  while  I  went  two 
miles  further  to  post  the  guard  at  Turkey  bridge. 

After  posting  the  guard  at  Turkey  bridge,  I  went  on 
board  the  war  steamer  lying  off  the  landing,  and  break 
fasted  with  Captain  John  Rodgers.  At  his  table  I  met, 
for  the  first  time,  the  accomplished  Lieutenant  Samuel  R. 
Franklin,  now  commodore  in  charge  of  the  observatory  in 
Washington.  From  that  time  till  now,  Franklin  has 
ranked  high  among  my  most  esteemed  friends. 

I  ate  and  slept  as  much  as  was  necessary  to  keep  me 
fresh,  and  no  march,  battle,  task,  or  vigil  of  the  campaign 
produced  on  me  a  feeling  of  exhaustion.  At  the  end  of 
the  seven  days'  fights  I  was  less  fatigued  than  I  felt  on 
arriving  at  the  unfinished  bridge  over  the  swamp.  At 
that  moment  my  nervous  depression  was  great,  lest  the 
enemy  should  appear  on  the  opposite  bank. 

At  the  battle  of  Malvern  Hill  I  detached  Couch's 
division,  and  sent  it  above  Turkey  bridge,  and  had 
directly  under  my  own  eye  Peck's  brigade  of  infantry, 
two  regiments  of  cavalry,  and  thirty-five  pieces  of  artillery. 
Here  my  observation  enables  me  to  correct  the  erroneous 
impressions  entertained  subsequently  by  some  persons 
concerning  General  McClellan's  going  on  a  gunboat. 

Twice  during  the  day  General  McClellan  came  to  me 
to  direct  a  change  in  my  line.  His  second  visit  was  late 
in  the  afternoon,  and  he  came  to  me  from  the  direction 


The  Retreat.  483 

of  Turkey  bridge.  He  described  minutely  how  the 
action  was  progressing,  and  apprehended  that  the  enemy 
would  probably  get  around  and  attack  me  through  the 
road  I  had  come  in  upon.  I  hastened  to  make  the 
changes  required,  and  the  general  left  me,  saying  he 
was  going  on  board  the  gunboat  to  instruct  navy  officers 
where  to  direct  their  shots. 

After  the  battle  of  Malvern  Hill,  which  was  fought 
July  I,  the  army  retreated  to  Harrison's  Landing. 

On  the  evening  of  the  first  I  received  my  orders  to 
command  the  rear  guard.  I  spent  nearly  the  whole  night 
in  making  arrangements  to  destroy  Turkey  bridge,  send 
ing  two  of  my  aides,  Jackson  and  Gibson,  to  attend  to  it. 
Ordered  Captain  Clark,  8th  Illinois  Cavalry,  with  twenty- 
five  expert  axe-men,  to  chop  the  largest  trees  along  the 
road  below  nearly  through,  so  that  within  fifteen  minutes 
after  the  tail  of  the  column  passed  the  bridge  was 
destroyed  without  blowing  up,  and  the  road  through  the 
jungle  blocked  beyond  the  possible  passage  of  wheels  or 
cavalry,  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  made  difficult  for 
infantry. 

A  strong  line  of  battle  facing  to  the  rear,  composed  of 
Wessel's  brigade  of  infantry,  Miller's  and  McCarthy's 
battery,  was  formed  on  the  hill  overlooking  Haxall'svast 
farm.  I  placed  it  under  the  immediate  charge  of  General 
Peck, — Naglee,  with  his  brigade,  and  more  of  West's 
artillery  were  further  on.  Farneworth,  8th  Illinois 
Cavalry,  was  drawn  up  in  line,  and  as  much  of  all  the  force 
as  possible  was  concealed  from  the  view  of  the  enemy. 
Cavalry  scouts  were  kept  out  in  all  directions,  and  the 
greatest  possible  assistance  was  rendered  me  during  the 
day  by  Gregg's  8th  Pennsylvania  and  Farneworth's  8th 
Illinois  Cavalry.  Gregg  was  a  splendid  cavalry  leader  of 
the  Regular  Army,  whose  daring  and  good  service  I  had 


484  Fifty  Years'  Observation* 

often  witnessed,  and  Farneworth  was  a  natural  born 
hussar.  No  man  at  the  head  of  a  regiment  of  horse  could 
have  done  more  effective  duty  than  he. 

Naglee  had,  at  his  own  request,  and  with  my  consent, 
felled  numerous  trees  across  a  road  passing  between  the 
river  and  the  main  highway,  and  that  I  was  obliged  to 
reopen,  and  an  immense  number  of  carriages  passed  over 
it  that  could  not  have  escaped  otherwise,  as,  with  all  our 
exertions  to  double  and  treble  the  line  of  vehicles,  we 
had  not  quite  five  minutes  to  spare  before  the  enemy 
came  upon  us  from  the  woods  at  the  edge  of  the  large 
wheat  field  near  our  intended  camp. 

During  the  day  I  received  the  following  letter  from 
General  McClellan's  chief  of  staff  : 

GENERAL  :  I  have  ordered  back  all  the  cavalry  that  can  be  raised  here 
(Harrison's  Landing).  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  we  should  save 
all  our  artillery,  and  as  many  of  our  wagons  as  possible  ;  and  the  com 
manding  general  feels  the  utmost  confidence  that  you  will  do  all  that  can 
be  done  to  accomplish  this.  Permit  me  to  say  that  if  you  bring  in  everything 
you  will  accomplish  a  most  signal  and  meritorious  exploit,  which  the  com 
manding  general  will  not  fail  to  represent  in  its  proper  light  to  the  Depart 
ment. 

Very  respectfully, 

[Signed]          R.  T.  MARCY, 

Chief  of  Staff. 

The  despatch  from  Headquarters  sending  Averill's 
and  Farneworth's  cavalry  to  my  assistance  authorized  us, 
in  case  of  the  impossibility  of  getting  up  all  the  wagons, 
to  destroy  them,  and  drive  the  horses  forward.  General 
McClellan  came  out  half  a  mile  to  meet  me,  and  was 
greatly  pleased  with  the  entire  success  of  the  operations 
of  the  rear  guard. 

The  following  day,  not  being  satisfied  with  the  position 
of  the  line  established  by  the  engineers  for  me  to  guard, 


The  Retreat.  485 

I  requested  the  general  to  inspect  it  with  me.  He  did 
so,  and  approved  another  line  further  out  of  my  selection. 
His  agreement  with  me,  and  his  manner  on  this  occa 
sion,  caused  me  to  think  I  had  at  last  won  his  confi 
dence. 

In  some  of  the  accounts  that  I  have  seen  of  the  retreat 
to  Harrison's  Landing  my  name  is  not  mentioned.  In 
some  the  command  of  the  rear  guard  is  assigned  to,  or 
assumed  by,  other  officers.  To  establish  the  truth  I  have 
cited  reliable  documents,  the  most  conclusive  of  which  is 
the  following  from  General  McClellan's  report : 

The  greater  portion  of  the  transportation  of  the  army  having  been  start 
ed  for  Harrison's  Landing  during  the  night  of  the  soth  of  June  and  the  ist 
of  July,  the  order  for  the  movement  of  the  troops  was  at  once  issued  upon 
the  final  repulse  of  the  enemy  at  Malvern  Hill. 

The  orders  prescribed  a  movement  by  the  left  and  rear,  General  Keyes1 
corps  to  cover  the  manoeuvre.  It  was  not  carried  out  in  detail  as  regards 
the  divisions  on  the  left,  the  roads  being  somewhat  blocked  by  the  rear  of 
our  trains.  Porter  and  Couch  were  not  able  to  move  out  as  early  as  had  been 
anticipated,  and  Porter  found  it  necessary  to  place  a  rear  guard  between  his 
command  and  the  enemy.  Colonel  Averell,  of  the  3d  Pennsylvania  Cav 
alry,  was  entrusted  with  the  delicate  duty.  He  had  under  his  command  his 
own  regiment  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Buchanan's  brigade  of  regular 
infantry  and  one  battery.  By  a  judicious  use  of  the  materials  at  his  com 
mand,  he  deceived  the  enemy  so  as  to  cover  the  withdrawal  of  the  left  wing 
without  being  attacked,  remaining  himself  on  the  previous  day's  battle-field 
until  about  seven  o'clock  of  the  2d  of  July.  Meantime  General  Keyes, 
having  received  his  orders,  commenced  vigorous  preparations  for  covering 
the  movements  of  the  entire  army,  and  protecting  the  trains.  It  being 
evident  that  the  immense  number  of  wagons  and  artillery  pertaining  to  the 
army  could  not  move  with  celerity  along  a  single  road,  General  Keyes  took 
advantage  of  every  accident  of  the  ground  to  open  new  avenues,  and  to 
facilitate  the  movement.  He  made  preparations  for  obstructing  the  roads 
after  the  army  had  passed  so  as  to  prevent  any  rapid  pursuit,  destroying 
effectually  Turkey  bridge,  on  the  main  road,  and  rendering  other  roads  and 
approaches  temporarily  impassable  by  felling  trees  across  them.  He  kept 
the  trains  well  closed  up,  and  directed  the  march  so  that  the  troops  could 
move  on  each  side  of  the  road,  not  obstructing  the  passage,  but  being  in 
good  position  to  repel  an  attack  from  any  quarter.  His  dispositions  were  so 


486  Fifty  Years    Observation. 

so  successful  that,  to  use  his  own  words  :  "  I  do  not  think  that  more  vehicles 
or  more  public  property  were  abandoned  on  the  march  from  Turkey  bridge 
than  would  have  been  left,  in  the  same  state  of  the  roads,  if  the  army  had 
been  moving  toward  the  enemy,  instead  of  away  from  him,"  and  when  it  is 
understood  that  the  carriages  and  teams  of  the  army,  stretched  out  in  one 
line,  would  extend  not  far  from  forty  miles,  the  energy  and  caution  neces 
sary  for  their  safe  withdrawal  from  the  presence  of  an  enemy  vastly  superior 
in  numbers  will  be  appreciated. 

Great  credit  must  be  awarded  to  General  Keyes  for  the  skill  and  energy 
which  characterized  his  performance  of  the  important  and  delicate  duties 
entrusted  to  his  charge. 

Shortly  after  the  army  reached  Harrison's  Landing 
President  Lincoln  and  certain  members  of  his  Cabinet 
came  down  to  visit  us.  I  went  to  pay  my  respects,  and 
before  leaving  the  vicinity  of  his  lodging,  he  came  out 
and  asked  me  to  walk  with  him.  As  we  were  starting  an 
officer  of  the  Quartermaster's  Department  approached 
and  reported  to  me  that  one  of  the  wagons  for  which  he 
was  accountable  broke  down  on  the  retreat  and  the  rebels 
had  captured  it.  "  Did  you  get  a  receipt  for  the  wagon  ?" 
said  the  President.  The  officer  replied  in  the  negative 
and  left.  Mr.  Lincoln  then  related  a  story  concerning 
two  ruffians  who  lived  in  Sangamon  County,  Illinois. 
The  story  described  a  receipt  and  the  strange  manner  of 
getting  it  by  one  of  the  ruffians.  I  had  never  heard  from 
the  President  a  more  astounding  illustration,  nor  one 
that  was  more  laughable.  Instantly  after  telling  it  he 
said:  "What's  to  be  done  with  this  army?"  His  ques 
tion  was  so  abrupt  that  I  replied  : 

"  Take  it  back  to  Washington." 

"  What  are  your  reasons  ?  " 

In  answer  to  that  serious  interrogatory,  I  spoke  at 
length. 

I  said  :  "  Mr.  President,  this  army  is  in  retreat,  and  it  is 
reasonable  to  suppose  its  spirit  is  not  improved,  but  it  is 


A   Talk  With  the  President.  487 

certain  the  rebels  feel  great  exultation  at  having  chased 
us  into  these  limits.  If  we  could  not  take  Richmond  be 
fore  coming  here,  what  hope  is  there  of  taking  it  with  this 
same  army  after  such  an  acknowledgment  of  defeat  as 
you  see  before  you  ?  It  would  be  folly,  in  my  opinion, 
to  advance  again  without  strong  reinforcements,  and  be 
fore  such  reinforcements  could  reach  us  the  malaria  of 
the  James  would  damage  this  army  twenty  per  cent."  I 
then  referred  to  the  largeness  of  the  sick  list,  and  the  ef 
fects  I  had  noticed  of  the  malaria  of  the  swamps  of  the 
Chickahominy,  etc.  I  told  him,  also,  that  on  account  of 
the  sickliness  of  the  season  and  place  it  would  be  better 
to  transport  the  army  to  Washington  for  a  while,  and 
then  bring  it  back  again  if  this  line  should  be  approved. 
If  we  remain  here  much  longer,  I  added,  "  the  rebels 
may  strengthen  the  defences  of  Richmond,  and  despatch 
an  army  to  occupy  Washington  before  us." 

I  do  not  know  to  what  extent  my  statements  influenced 
the  President,  and  at  the  time  of  making  them  I  was  ig 
norant  of  the  plans  and  intentions  of  General  McClellan. 
I  afterward  learned  that  his  opinions  were  in  direct  op 
position  to  mine,  and  as  he  was  overruled,  and  the  army 
ordered  North,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  the  general 
was  irritated  against  me.  I  committed  no  offence  by 
giving  my  opinions  to  our  common  superior  who  required 
them,  but  I  was  left  behind  at  Yorktown  with  a  broken 
portion  of  my  corps,  to  my  inexpressible  disappointment 
and  disgust.  I  remained  there  a  year  guarding  an  exten 
sive  line  on  both  sides  of  York  River ;  sent  out  frequent 
expeditions  to  harass  the  enemy,  one  under  Kilpatrick, 
and  one  to  destroy  a  foundry  near  Catlet's  Station,  under 
Major  Carroll  Tevis,  who  on  that  occasion  distinguished 
himself  in  a  brilliant  manner ;  was  in  temporary  com 
mand  of  the  department  when  the  rebels  came  down  to 


488  Fifty  Years'  Observation. 

attack  Suffolk  and  Williamsburg  simultaneously ;  visited 
and  consulted  with  General  Peck,  who  bravely  defended 
Suffolk.  Took  a  subordinate  part  in  another  expedition 
which  failed.  The  want  of  time  and  space  is  my  excuse 
for  not  entering  into  particulars  concerning  my  last  year's 
service  on  the  Peninsula.  At  its  beginning  my  constitution 
was  so  perfect  that  I  had  no  suspicion  of  any  physical  dis 
ease  or  weakness,  but  before  many  months  the  emanations 
from  the  swamps  about  Yorktown  began  to  report  them 
selves  in  my  liver,  which  was  then  so  much  disordered 
that  it  has  troubled  me  ever  since.  Whether  it  was  the 
free  expression  of  my  opinion  to  the  President,  at  which 
General  McClellan  had  no  rfght  to  be  offended,  or  his 
dislike,  or  the  dislike  and  slanders  of  other  men,  I  know 
not,  but  there  must  have  been  some  cause  for  my  aban 
donment,  which  was  as  fatal  to  my  aspirations  and  useful 
ness  in  the  army  as  a  dismissal  would  have  been. 

I  have  not  given  my  impressions  at  length  in  this  book 
of  General  McClellan's  capacity  to  command  armies,  for 
the  reason  that  he  held  me  at  times  in  what  I  considered 
unmerited  disfavor,  the  remembrance  of  which  might 
sway  my  judgment.  If  I  were  to  estimate  his  qualifica 
tions  only  from  his  conduct  during  the  change  of  base  to 
the  James  River,  I  should  assign  to  him  a  distinguished 
rank  among  military  leaders. 

Strong  efforts  were  made  by  many  of  my  friends  to 
have  the  balance  of  my  corps  and  me  brought  up  from 
Yorktown.  Among  them  were  Mr.  Secretary  Chase  and 
General  James  Wadsworth,  with  the  latter  of  whom  I  had 
served  several  months.  My  enemies  pleaded  against  me 
in  my  absence,  and  would  have  done  so  if  I  had  the 
genius  of  Napoleon,  for  I  was  considered  no  better  than 
an  abolitionist. 

Mr.  Chase  wrote  me  the  following  note: 


Secretary  Chase's  Letter.  489 

September  I,  1862. 

MY  DEAR  GEN'L  : — I  lost  no  time,  after  becoming  informed  of  your 
views,  in  urging  an  order  to  bring  up  the  balance  of  your  corps,  and  I  under 
stood  yesterday  that  such  an  order  was  issued. 

The  clique  is  not  so  strong  as  formerly.  The  eyes  of  the  whole  coun 
try  are  upon  the  conduct  of  its  chief. 

Yours  truly, 

[Signed]  S.  P.  CHASE. 

Maj.-Gen.  Keyes. 
21* 


APPENDIX  I. 


THE  following  is  from  Colonel  C.  C.  Suydam,  who  was 
my  Chief  of  Staff : 

Having  had  the  pleasure  and  honor  of  serving  on  the  staff  of  General 
Keyes  during  a  portion  of  the  time  he  commanded  the  division  which  covered 
the  rear  of  Washington  from  the  autumn  of  1861  to  the  spring  of  1862,  and 
during  the  whole  sixteen  months  he  was  in  command  of  the  Fourth  Corps  of 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  it  has  seemed  to  me  it  might  be  of  interest  to  the 
future  historian  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  to  indulge  in  a  few  reflections 
and  reminiscences  of  some  of  the  events  in  the  careers  of  my  former  compan 
ions  in  arms.  As  indicated  in  General  Keyes'  letter  to  me  of  December  24, 
1877,  I  am  in  possession  of  many  memoranda  of  events,  and  my  recollection 
of  others,  not  noted  at  the  time,  is  still  very  fresh.  Certainly  such  personal 
reminiscences,  coupled  with  the  official  reports  of  operations,  cannot  but  aid 
the  future  writer  in  compiling  a  true  record.  I  cannot  but  feel  that  in  the 
writing  of  the  day  justice  has  not  been  done  to  the  services  rendered  to  the 
cause  of  the  Union  by  General  Keyes  and  the  troops  who  were  so  fortunate 
as  to  have  him  for  their  commander. 

It  was  in  November  1861,  that  I  reported  to  General  Keyes  for  duty  as  aide- 
de-camp  ;  and  very  early  in  my  career  on  his  staff  I  learned  to  appreciate  his 
worth  as  a  man  and  soldier.  To  a  constitution  of  iron,  and  an  untiring  in 
dustry,  a  thorough  acquaintance — gained  through  long  training — with  all  the 
duties  appertaining  to  his  profession,  and  a  finished  ability  in  the  perform 
ance  of  those  duties,  he  added,  in  a  marked  degree,  an  intense  earnestness 
and  honesty  of  purpose.  To  him  the  war  meant  something  more  than  the 
mere  gaining  of  battles,  something  far  higher  and  nobler  than  the  personal 
rewards  of  success.  His  whole  heart  was  in  the  cause  of  suppressing  the 
Rebellion  and  maintaining  the  dignity  of  the  Government,  and  he  was  out 
spoken  in  expressing  his  convictions.  These  traits  of  character,  and  this 
strong  Northern  feeling — as  it  was  then  called — were  so  well  known  that, 
while  in  the  Executive  Mansion  he  was  esteemed  and  trusted  and  honored, 
the  controlling  authorities  of  the  army  during  the  first  two  and  a  half  years 


492  Appendix  I. 

of  the  war  never  gave  him  the  credit  to  which  his  services  entitled  him. 
Trusted  by  Mr.  Lincoln  though  he  was,  many  of  the  President's  military  ad 
visers  at  the  time,  who  did  not  yet — and  some  of  whom  never  did — wage  the  war 
with  the  earnestness  which  subsequent  events  showed  to  be  absolutely  neces 
sary  to  save  the  life  of  the  nation,  failed  to  appreciate  the  whole-souled  de 
termination  which  General  Keyes  threw  into  all  his  efforts.  They  had  not 
yet  learned  that  a  Rebel  to  the  constituted  authorities  meant  an  open  enemy, 
to  be  treated  as  such  as  though  attacking  beneath  the  protection  of  a  foreign 
flag.  Those  were  the  times  when  the  war  was  conducted,  on  the  part  of  the 
so-called  Federal  leaders — so  to  speak — with  gloves  ;  when  the  people  of  the 
country  passed  through  were  not  to  be  despoiled  of  their  possessions,  when 
their  lands  were  not  to  be  devastated,  when  their  growing  crops  were  not 
to  be  molested,  but  were  to  be  protected  and  permitted  to  come  to  full 
fruition  that  they  might  be  garnered  and  preserved  to  fill  the  commissariat 
of  the  Southern  armies  ;  when  favoritism  and  adulation  of  favorites  readily 
took  the  place  of  earnest  zeal  for  the  common  cause,  regardless  of  individual 
choice ;  when  the  fate  of  the  nation  was  willingly  left  hanging  undecided  in 
the  balance  rather  than  an  unpopular  commander  should  gain  a  victory.  And 
it  needed  the  bitter  experience  of  many  a  defeat  to  teach  our  leaders  that 
peace  could  be  conquered  and  the  nation  saved  only  by  applying  the  most 
destructive  rules  of  war,  and  the  sharp  admonition  of  a  court  martial  to  re 
mind  the  officers  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac  that  it  was  their  first  duty  to 
obey  orders,  and  to  render  a  whole-hearted  support  to  superior  authority, 
whether  they  admired  that  authority  or  did  not. 

In  organizing  and  drilling  the  untrained  troops  that  came  to  Washington 
to  do  service  for  the  country  I  believe  General  Keyes  did  not  have  a  superior. 
He  felt  the  necessity  of  thorough  preparation  in  all  the  departments  to  meet 
the  life  and  death  struggle  which  he  knew  was  certain  to  come  ;  he  did  not 
believe  in  any  30  or  60  days'  campaign  as  sufficient  to  crush  the  life  out  of 
the  Rebellion  ;  fully  aware  of  the  fighting  qualities  of  the  men  of  the 
South,  and  appreciating  their  fierce  and  earnest — if  mistaken — determination 
to  seize  the  reins  of  government  and  administer  it  to  their  own  liking,  he 
knew  that  only  the  utmost  completeness  in  all  details  would  enable  us  to  wage 
an  equal  fight.  And  so,  while  the  army  lay  about  Washington,  he  suffered 
no  moment  to  pass  without  improving  the  condition  of  his  division,  and 
causing  both  officers  and  men  to  be  well  instructed  in  the  duties  which 
they  would  be  called  upon  to  perform  after  taking  the  field.  Drills  and 
inspections  were  frequent,  and  all  the  minutiae  of  camp,  and  march,  and  bat 
tle-life  were  so  constantly  repeated,  that  when  in  the  spring  of  1862  the 
division  took  the  field  under  General  Couch — who  succeeded  General  Keyes 
on  his  promotion  to  the  command  of  the  Fourth  Corps — it  gave  so  good  an 
account  of  itself  that  it  speedily  took  rank  as  one  of  the  most  reliable  divi- 


Appendix  L  493 

sions  of  the  army,  a  proud  eminence  which  it  retained  to  the  end  of  the 
war.  With  his  staff  the  General  was  equally  exacting  ;  with  two  exceptions 
we  were  all  from  civil  life,  with  little  or  no  knowledge  of  military  matters, 
and  to  the  instruction  and  advice  we  received  from  our  chief  those  of  us  who 
were  without  previous  experience  owe  whatever  success  we  achieved.  I  had 
entered  the  army  from  my  lawyer's  desk,  utterly  ignorant  of  anything  apper 
taining  to  the  service,  and  after  three  months'  diligent  application  had  tolerably 
well  familiarized  myself  with  the  duties  of  a  first  lieutenant  of  cavalry  ;  the 
afternoon  of  the  day  after  I  reported  for  duty  the  General  remarked  to  his 
three  aides-de-camp,  "Young  gentlemen,  to-morrow  morning  I  drill  the 

division.     Mr.  ,  you  will  accompany  General  Couch;  Mr.  ,  you  will 

accompany  General  Peck;  Mr.  ,  you  will  accompany  General  Graham, 

and  you  will  all  see  that  my  orders  are  properly  executed."  We  did  not  pass 
the  evening  together,  and  a  subsequent  comparison  of  notes  showed  that  each 
of  us  had  betaken  himself  to  the  privacy  of  his  own  quarters  and  consumed 
much  midnight  oil  in  mastering  the  intricacies  of  "  grand  tactics  "  as  set  forth 
in  the  last  volume  of  Hardee.  Owing  to  the  clearness  of  the  General's  voice, 
the  already  rapid  progress  of  the  troops,  and  the  superior  qualities  of  the  brig 
ade  commanders  named,  we  aides  had  really  very  little  to  do,  but  we  were 
enlightened  as  to  what  was  to  be  expected  of  us,  and  it  was  not  very  long  be 
fore  we  were  pretty  well  versed  in  the  requirements  of  "  tactics"  and  "  army 
regulations.' 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  President  Lincoln's  designation  of  officers  to 
command  the  four  corps,  into  which  the  Army  of  the  Potoma.c  was  divided 
in  the  spring  of  1862,  did  not  meet  with  the  entire  approval  of  the  general 
commanding,  and  that  efforts  were  made  to  change  some  of  those  designa 
tions  after  they  were  made  ;  those  efforts,  however,  were  not  successful,  and 
General  Keyes  assumed  command  of  the  Fourth  Corps,  composed  of  his 
own  division — in  fine  condition,  and  then  commanded  by  General  Couch. 
"  Baldy  "  Smith's  division,  a  splendid  body  of  men,  who  in  the  subsequent 
events  of  the  war  made  a  record  second  to  none  ;  and  Casey's  division,  this 
latter  composed  of  the  regiments  most  recently  arrived  at  the  capital,  but 
who  gave  an  account  of  themselves  which  was  recognized  by  the  Southern 
generals,  if  not  by  some  of  our  own.  There  was  no  time  to  consolidate  the 
command  and  to  harmonize  its  component  parts ;  the  officers  and  men  of 
the  regiments  of  the  different  divisions  had  no  opportunity  to  meet  and  be 
come  acquainted  with  each  other,  and,  although  the  corps  existed  as  a  desig 
nated  body  of  men,  no  time  was  given  to  make  of  it  a  compact  whole  before 
taking  the  field  ;  with  the  rest  of  the  army  the  troops  were  hurried  to  the 
Peninsula  as  rapidly  as  transportation  could  be  furnished,  and  they  first  as 
sembled  as  a  corps  in  camp  at  Newport  News.  Soon  after  that  active 
campaigning  began,  the  field  life  of  the  soldier  set  in,  the  time  for  organiz- 


494  Appendix  L 

ing  and  drilling  had  passed,  but  the  General  set  to  work  with  his  inborn 
zeal  and  earnestness  to  do  full  service  in  the  position  to  which  he  had  been 
appointed  by  the  President.  And  he  was  ably  assisted  by  his  subordinate 
officers  and  the  privates  of  the  command.  Example,  whether  for  good  or 
evil,  is  infectious,  and  in  this  instance  the  whole  corps  willingly  followed 
the  lead  of  their  chief  in  doing  their  utmost  in  the  service  to  which  they  had 
voluntarily  devoted  their  lives  and  their  honors.  In  the  operations  opposite 
the  enemy's  strong  works  on  the  left  of  the  Yorktown  line,  the  General  was 
ever  vigilant  and  thorough.  No  great  amount  of  fighting  was  done  ;  but  so 
close  a  hold  upon  the  enemy's  lines  was  established,  and  so  incessant  a 
watchfulness  of  his  movements  was  had,  that  when,  on  that  warm  Sunday 
in  May,  1862,  the  evacuation  of  Yorktown  by  Magruder  was  reported,  the 
corps,  ever  ready  for  such,  or  any,  emergency,  were  speedily  set  in  motion 
in  pursuit  with  their  commander  at  their  head.  Coming  up  to  their  rear 
guard  at  Williamsburg,  the  willing  troops  did  noble  service,  and  the  Gen 
eral  gave  marked  evidence  of  his  decision  and  activity  ;  intuitively  he  seemed 
to  take  in  the  requirements  of  the  occasion,  and  the  quickness  with  which  he 
executed  a  movement  when  its  necessity  became  apparent  was  something 
remarkable  ;  to  that  rapid  perception  and  speedy  execution  was  in  large 
measure  due  the  solid  support  given  by  Peck's  brigade  of  Couch's  division  to 
the  roughly  handled  troops  of  Hooker,  and  the  brilliant  success  achieved  by 
Hancock's  brigade  which  he  led  and  placed  in  position,  after  which  he 
brought  up  the  remainder  of  the  corps  and  placed  them  in  the  fight. 

After  the  battle  of  "Williamsburg  the  army  proceeded  up  the  Peninsula  in 
as  rapid  pursuit  of  the  retreating  enemy  as  was  permitted  by  the  wretched 
condition  of  the  roads,  and  by  the  necessity  of  establishing  a  firm  base  of 
supplies  for  future  movements.  While  en  route  above  Williamsburg, 
Smith's  division  was  detached  from  the  corps  and  reported  to  General 
Franklin,  forming  with  his  division  and  under  his  command  the  Provisional 
Army  Corps.  We  regretted  losing  Smith.  He  and  his  mefti  could  and  did 
always  give  good  account  of  themselves  ;  but  I  think  no  one  questioned  the 
good  judgment  of  General  McClellan  in  reducing  the  component  parts  of 
the  Infantry  Army  Corps  to  two  divisions,  the  organization  which  I  believe 
was  retained  to  the  close  of  the  war  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac.  Franklin 
was  an  able  officer. 

One  incident  that  occurred  in  this  march  up  the  Peninsula  filled  with  in 
dignation  the  hearts  of  General  Keyes  and  his  staff.  While  resting  in  the 
city  of  Williamsburg  for  a  few  days  succeeding  the  battle,  we  selected  for 
our  headquarters  the  house  of  a  prominent  citizen  who  had  fled  on  the  ap 
proach  of  our  troops,  leaving  a  negro  man-servant  in  charge.  I  think  it  was 
I,  in  person,  who  informed  the  General  that  I  had  learned  from  the  negro 
servant  that  there  were  some  bottles  of  brandy  in  the  house  we  occupied, 


Appendix  I.  .  495 

and  suggested  to  him  that,  in  this  emergency,  there  would  be.no  impropriety 
in  appropriating  some  of  the  brandy  to  be  used  in  case  of  need.  Surgeon 
Brown,  the  medical  director,  recommended  it  strongly.  And  so,  with  the 
General's  permission,  I  ordered  a  few  bottles  of  brandy  to  be  taken  from  the 
cellar  and  put  in  the  General's  wagon,  where  it  was  to  remain  under  Surgeon 
Brown's  orders.  At  the  end  of  the  second  day's  march  from  Williamsburg 
the  General  was  summoned  to  report  in  person  to  the  Provost  Marshal,  An 
drew  Porter,  charged  with  having  violated  orders  in  having  despoiled  the 
citizen  of  Williamsburg,  taking  away  his  brandy  and  appropriating  it  to 
his  use.  Notwithstanding  the  facts  were  explained  as  I  have  given  them, 
notwithstanding  the  further  fact  that  Dr.  Brown  represented  in  writing  that 
the  brandy  was  required  in  the  unhealthy  region  through  which  we  were 
then  marching,  General  Keyes  was  ordered  to  send  back  the  brandy  under 
the  escort  of  an  aide-de-camp  and  to  restore  it  to  the  place  whence  it  had 
been  taken.  This  order  was  obeyed,  and  those  bottles,  together  with  all 
others  containing  liquor,  or  wine,  or  their  contents,  soon  thereafter  found 
their  way  into  the  canteens  or  haversacks  of  the  troops  which  occupied  the 
city  after  the  main  army  had  gone  forward.  I  do  not  know  whether  the 
movements  of  all  the  corps  commanders  were  so  closely  watched,  but  I  felt 
at  the  time,  a  feeling  which  is  in  no  sense  diminished  by  the  lapse  of  years, 
that  it  was  a  studied  indignity  put  upon  General  Keyes  by  the  half -loyal 
clique  who  formed  a  considerable  part  of  General  McClellan's  staff,  and  a 
signal  instance  of  the  careful  guard  kept  over  the  property  of  the  common 
enemy  even  to  the  possible  detriment  of  our  own  officers  and  men. 

At  New  Kent  Court-house,  while  the  bulk  of  the  army  kept  on  up  to  White 
House  and  thence  outward  towards  Richmond  on  the  east,  to  General  Keyes, 
with  his  corps,  now  composed  of  the  divisions  of  Couch  and  Casey,  and 
accompanied  by  Gregg's  Eighth  Pennsylvania  cavalry,  was  assigned  the 
advance  by  the  left  towards  where  the  main  road  and  the  railroad  cross  the 
Chickahominy  at  and  near  Bottom's  Bridge.  This  advance  was  most  admi 
rably  conducted  ;  the  enemy  were  driven  back  steadily,  and  on  May  23  the 
Chickahominy  was  crossed  and  positions  taken  up  on  its  right  bank.  The 
Chickahominy  is  not  navigable  above  Bottom's  Bridge,  where  in  the  dry 
season  ft  is  an  insignificant,  sluggish  stream.  In  times  of  freshets  and  heavy 
rains  it  suddenly  overflows  its  banks  to  the  width  of  half  a  mile  and  is  not 
fordable.  Meanwhile  the  base  of  supplies  had  been  established  at  White 
House.  The  railroad  thence  to  the  front  was  strongly  covered  and  guarded 
by  the  infantry  and  by  Stoneman  with  the  cavalry  and  the  corps  of 
Sumner.  Franklin  and  Porter  were  taking  up  positions  to  the  right  along 
the  left  bank  of  the  Chickahominy,  with  Heintzelman  in  reserve.  And  thus 
it  was  that  this  treacherous  stream — with  the  spring  freshets  then  due — was 
straddled  by  the  army.  The  4th  Corps  continued  its  advance  towards  Rich- 


496  Appendix  L 

mond,  and  on  the  25th  day  of  May  Heintzelman's  corps  also  crossed  at 
Bottom's  Bridge,  and  took  up  positions  on  the  extreme  left  and  rear  at  White 
Oak  swamp  with  Hooker's  division,  while  Kearny's  division  was  advanced 
to  supporting  distance  of  Keyes.  These  two  corps  were  the  only  troops  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  stream  when  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks  began  on  the  3ist 
of  May,  and  at  that  time  the  only  means  of  communicating  with  the  troops 
on  the  left  bank  was  by  way  of  Bottom's  Bridge,  a  distance  of  ten  or  twelve 
miles.  There  were  no  practicable  fords,  and  although  considerable  work  had 
been  done  in  constructing  bridges  none  had  been  completed  during  the 
eight  days  between  the  crossing  of  the  corps  on  the  23d  and  the  engage 
ment  of  the  3 ist.  Meanwhile  General  Keyes,  thoroughly  aware  of  the  ex 
posed  position  of  his  troops,  failed  not  to  adopt  every  means  in  his  power  to 
prepare  for  the  attack  which  to  him  seemed  imminent.  The  position  he 
selected  for  his  corps  was  not  the  one  where  the  battle  of  the  3ist  was 
fought ;  that  position  he  felt  to  be  too  far  advanced  under  the  conditions  of  his 
great  separation  from  the  main  body  of  the  army,  and  he  so  represented  to 
the  general  of  the  army  ;  but  his  advice  was  not  considered,  and,  under  the 
immediate  directions  of  the  engineer  department  the  corps  was  placed  in 
position  on  the  2gth  of  May  with  its  left  resting  on  the  White  Oak 
swamp,  which  formed  a  fair  cover  to  that  flank,  and  its  right  covering  Fair 
Oak  station  ;  this  flank  was  in  air,  the  country  between  it  and  the  Chick- 
ahominy  being  covered  merely  by  a  picket  line  ;  the  centre  on  the  Williams- 
burg  road  was  close  to  the  enemy's  lines.  Yet,  notwithstanding  this  un 
favorable  condition  of  affairs,  the  general  bent  his  best  energies  as  a  true 
soldier  to  prepare  for  the  storm  which  he  felt  positive  was  before  long  to 
break  upon  him.  Constantly  vigilant,  he  discovered  in  his  direct  front  the 
presence  of  the  enemy  in  great  force,  and  his  constantly  reiterated  reports  to 
army  headquarters  should  have  given  ample  warning  of  the  attack  which  he 
knew  to  be  imminent.  How  anxious  were  the  night  watches  and  the  daily 
expectations  in  those  corps  headquarters  at  "  Seven  Pines"  !  But  his  advice 
was  all  unheeded  and  disregarded  ;  as  one  of  McClellan's  staff  officers  said 
to  me,  "  Keyes  thinks  the  enemy  are  in  his  front ;  but  they  are  not — they  are 
off  to  the  right  up  at  Meadow  Bridge."  Certainly  it  seems  a  just  criticism 
that  General  McClellan  never  expected  a  serious  attack  upon  his  left  wing  ; 
else  why  should  he  have  pushed  it  so  far  in  advance,  and  so  far  removed 
from  the  support  of  the  main  army  ? 

The  official  reports  on  both  sides  are  so  full  of  the  preparations  for  the 
battle  of  Fair  Oaks  and  of  the  events  of  the  battle  itself,  that  I  shall  not 
attempt  to  improve  upon  them.  So  far  as  the  Fourth  Corps  is  concerned  no  one 
could  write  so  full  and  clear  an  account  as  General  Keyes  himself  has  done  ; 
his  record  is  a  manual  of  completeness  of  detail,  and  is  a  monument  to  his 
fair  treatment  of  all  concerned.  Many  of  the  officers  engaged  remarked  its 


Appendix  I.  497 

accuracy  to  me.  When  the  first  sounds  of  battle  came  from  the  enemy's 
lines  General  Keyes  was  thoroughly  prepared  for  the  attack  and  gave  all 
necessary  orders  to  meet  it.  He  anticipated  the  first  onslaught  on  the  right 
at  Fair  Oaks  Station,  the  quarter  where  his  experience  taught  him  it  would 
naturally  be  made ;  and,  appreciating  the  vast  importance  of  retaining  his  hold  at 
this  point  so  long  as  possible,  if  help  from  across  the  stream  should  be  needed, 
he  strengthened  that  position  by  sending  there  General  Couch  with  a  portion 
of  his  proved  troops  to  support  the  first  line.  He  had  already  sent  to  request 
reinforcements  there,  and  subsequently  got  General  Heintzelman  to  advance 
Birney's  brigade  towards  the  same  point  by  the  railroad.  And  though,  from 
the  fact  that  General  Johnston  did  not  strike  the  right  heavily  until  late  in  the 
day,  but  concentrated  his  attack  upon  the  left  and  centre  and  drove  the  lines 
past  Couch's  left,  that  officer  with  the  troops  immediately  under  his  com 
mand  was  cut  off  from  the  remainder  of  the  corps  and  was  unable  to  render 
assistance  to  it  when  so  hard  pressed,  yet  his  being  where  he  was  enabled 
him  to  render  immeasurable  service  when  Sedgwick's  division  came  up  in  the 
afternoon.  His  presence  checked  the  advance  of  Smith's  rebel  division, 
and,  strengthened  by  his  six  regiments,  Sumner  was  enabled  to  retain  firm 
hold  upon  Fair  Oaks  and  thus  to  turn  defeat  into  victory.  Who  can  tell 
what  would  have  been  the  result  if  Couch  had  not  been  where  he  was,  but 
had  taken  part  in  the  earlier  work  of  the  day  ?  In  this,  as  in  every  other  dis 
position  of  his  forces  on  that  eventful  day,  General  Keyes  showed  the  results 
of  a  complete  and  ready  judgment ;  his  efforts  to  stay  the  enemy's  onward 
approach  were  well-nigh  superhuman  ;  he  handled  his  troops  with  perfect 
coolness  and  clear-headedness  under  the  most  trying  circumstances  ;  he 
seemed  to  be  ubiquitous,  perceiving  with  unerring  judgment  the  point  of 
each  fresh  attack  and  placing  troops  in  position  to  meet  each,  so  that  the 
capacity  of  his  comparatively  small  force  to  contest  the  field  inch  by  inch 
was  vastly  increased  ;  and  when  at  the  closing  hours  of  that  hard  day's  work 
the  last  unbroken  line  was  formed  to  stop  the  further  advance  of  the  baffled 
foe,  he  was  on  foot  among  his  brave  men  to  cheer  and  sustain  them  in  that 
their  final  and  successful  effort.  Truly  the  battle  was  well  fought  against 
desperate  odds,  both  of  position  and  numbers — and,  notwithstanding  the 
slanders  given  to  the  world  at  the  time,  the  men  of  the  Fourth  Corps 
acquitted  themselves  as  heroes.  Their  general  gave  them  all  credit  for  their 
noble  efforts  ;  and  they  appreciated  that  for  their  success  they  were  in 
large  measure  indebted  to  his  foresight,  judgment,  and  activity. 

After  Fair  Oaks  the  duties  of  the  corps  were  comparatively  light ;  it  needed 
recuperation  after  the  terrible  exhaustion  it  had  experienced.  But  on  the 
early  morning  of  June  28  it  took  the  advance  of  the  army  in  the  change 
of  base  to  the  James  River.  In  this  movement  despatch  and  secrecy  were 
of  the  utmost  moment,  for  after  his  victory  of  Games'  Mill  Jackson  would 


498  Appendix  L 

come  thundering  on  our  rear,  and  Lee  would  crowd  down  on  us  from  the 
direction  of  Richmond.  With  admirable  judgment  the  general,  after  cross 
ing  White  Oak  swamp,  advanced  the  corps  to  a  position  which  opened  the 
way  to  a  successful  completion  of  the  movement  of  the  army  contemplated 
by  General  McClellan.  And  here  occurred  an  incident  which  is  so  thoroughly 
illustrative  of  the  intense  earnestness  of  the  Southern  character  during  the 
war  that  I  think  it  worth  recording.  The  official  reports  state  how  Rebel 
cavalry  regiment,  commanded  by  a  major,  made  an  unexpected  and  a  futile 
attack  upon  our  lines,  and  how  in  the  attack  the  major  received  his  death- 
wound.  The  whole  affair  occurred  within  a  very  short  distance  of  the 
general  and  his  staff ;  and  when  we  advanced  over  the  road  down 
which  the  regiment  had  charged  I  saw  the  major  lying  by  the  roadside, 
desperately  wounded,  and  with  the  pallor  of  approaching  death  upon  his 
brow.  I  rode  to  him,  dismounted,  and  proffered  him  aid,  but  he  rejected 
iny  offers  with  maledictions.  He  wore  near  his  heart,  suspended  by  blue 
ribbon,  a  portrait  of  a  lady,  which  he  had  managed  to  have  in  his  hand, 
and  on  which  he  was  gazing  with  fond  looks.  This  seemed  to  him  to  be  his 
only  desire  in  the  few  moments  he  had  to  live,  and  I  presume  my  intended 
kindly  interference  was  an  obtrusion.  So  I  could  do  nothing  but  sadly  re 
mount  my  horse  and  ride  away,  reflecting  upon  the  horrors  of  war  which 
made  such  things  possible  Here,  too,  the  general  gave  signal  evidence  of 
the  worth  of  his  services.  In  moving  so  vast  a  body  of  men,  with  all  their 
impedimenta,  it  was  of  the  utmost  consequence  to  discover  the  roads  lead 
ing  to  the  James  River.  One  main  road  down  towards  Turkey  Bridge  was 
known,  but  it  was  left  to  General  Keyes  to  discover  another  road  over  which 
troops  could  march.  By  questioning  a  farmer  who  had  long  resided  in  the 
country,  and  threatening  him  with  instant  death  if  he  failed  to  tell  the  truth, 
he  learned  that  there  was  an  old  abandoned  road  through  the  woods  in  al 
most  a  straight  line  to  the  James  ;  this  road,  through  long  disuse,  had  be 
come  much  choked  with  fallen  trees,  but  the  axes  of  the  pioneers  removed 
these  obstructions  ;  the  road  was  made  practicable  by  the  light  of  lanterns  ; 
and  thus  the  whole  corps  was  enabled  to  pass  over  it  and  hasten  to  the 
James  River  and  seize  the  positions  which  made  possible  the  success  of 
Malvern  Hill.  It  is  certain  that  no  map,  nor  any  other  indication  of  this  old 
road,  was  received  by  General  Keyes  from  any  of  the  engineers,  report  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding. 

After  Malvern  it  is  well  known  that  the  army  fell  back  to  Harri 
son's  Landing  to  recuperate.  In  that  movement,  to  General  Keyes,  with 
Peck's  division  of  his  corps  and  a  mixed  command  of  cavalry  and  ar 
tillery,  was  committed  the  duty  of  covering  the  rear  and  of  saving  if  possible 
the  immense  transportation  of  the  army.  How  well  he  performed  that  duty 
General  McClellan  has  expressed  in  his  reports,  but  there  are  many  details 


Appendix  I.  499 

of  the  service  which  have  not  been  made  public.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  never 
was  more  zeal  or  earnestness  shown  by  any  one  ;  advantage  was  taken  of 
everything  that  would  in  the  least  degree  contribute  to  a  successful  carry 
ing  out  of  his  orders  ;  no  effort  that  thought  could  suggest  was  neglected, 
and  he  had  the  proud  satisfaction  of  receiving  from  his  army  commander  a 
full  recognition  of  the  services  of  himself  and  the  troops  under  his  com 
mand.  It  became  my  duty  on  the  2d  day  of  July  to  ride  within  the  entrench 
ments  at  Harrison's  Landing  and  to  report  to  General  McClellan  from 
General  Keyes  that  the  whole  of  the  transportation  of  the  army  was  saved, 
and  to  receive  from  him  for  my  chief  a  message  thanking  him  for  the  ser 
vice  he  had  rendered.  And  yet  in  the  subsequent  movements  of  the  Army 
of  the  Potomac  General  Keyes'  claims  were  ignored,  his  corps  was  disinte 
grated  ;  Couch's  division  was  taken  north  to  participate  in  the  grand  con 
flicts  that  ensued  ;  Casey's  division— now  Peck's — was  sent  to  Suffolk.  The 
general  was  left  at  Yorktown  with  a  mixed  command  for  a  time  ;  and  in 
the  summer  of  1863  the  old  Fourth  Corps  was  abolished,  and  the  general 
deprived  of  a  command  in  the  field,  which  was  never  afterwards  accorded 
to  him.  And  yet,  among  the  many  general  officers  who  had  commands 
during  the  war,  I  know  of  no  one  who  was  more  fit  to  command  troops  ;  no 
one  who  so  whole-heartedly  threw  himself  into  the  cause  which  all  pretended 
to  be  serving ;  no  one  who  could  give  a  better  account  of  himself —no  one 
who  did  give  a  better  account  of  himself — in  the  performance  of  any  duty 
to  which  he  was  called. 


APPENDIX    II. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  FAIR  OAKS. 
Report  of  Brigadier -General  E.  D.  Keyes,  $th  Corps. 

HEADQUARTERS  4TH  CORPS,  June  13,  1862. 

SIR  :  The  following  is  my  report  of  the  operations  of  the  4th  Corps  in  the 
battle  of  the  3 1st  of  May  and  1st  of  June  : 

The  4th  Corps  being  in  the  advance  crossed  the  Chickahominy  at  Bot 
tom's  Bridge  the  23d  of  May,  and  encamped  two  miles  beyond.  Two  days 
later  I  received  orders  to  advance  on  the  Williamsburg  road  and  take  up 
and  fortify  the  nearest  strong  position  to  a  fork  of  roads  called  the  "  Seven 
Pines."  The  camp  I  selected,  and  which  was  the  next  day  approved  by 
Major  General  McClellan,  stretches  across  the  Williamsburg  road  between 
Bottom's  Bridge  and  the  Seven  Pines,  and  is  distant  about  a  mile  from  the 
latter.  I  caused  that  camp  to  be  fortified  with  rifle-pits  and  breastworks 
extending  to  the  left  about  one  thousand  yards,  and  terminating  in  a  crotchet 
to  the  rear.  Similar  works  about  three  hundred  yards  farther  in  advance 
were  constructed  on  the  right,  extending  toward  the  Richmond  and  West 
Point  Railroad. 

Having  been  ordered  by  General  McClellan  to  hold  the  Seven  Pines 
strongly,  I  designed  to  throw  forward  to  that  neighborhood  two  brigades  of 
Casey's  division,  and  to  establish  my  picket-line  considerably  in  advance 
and  far  to  the  right.  The  lines  described  above  are  those  where  the  main 
body  of  the  troops  engaged  near  the  Seven  Pines  spent  the  night  of  the  3ist 
after  the  battle.  Examinations  having  been  made  by  several  engineers,  I 
was  ordered  on  the  28th  of  May  to  advance  Casey's  division  to  a  point  indi 
cated  by  a  large  wood-pile  and  two  houses,  about  three- fourths  of  a  mile 
beyond  the  Seven  Pines  (but  which  in  fact  is  only  half  a  mile),  and  to  estab 
lish  Couch's  division  at  the  Seven  Pines.  Accordingly  Casey's  division 
bivouacked  on  the  right  and  left  of  Williamsburg  road  and  wood-pile,  and 
Couch  established  his  division  at  the  Seven  Pines  and  along  the  Nine- mile 
road.  Both  divisions  set  to  work  with  the  few  intrenching  tools  at  hand  to 
slash  the  forests  and  to  dig  a  few  rifle-pits.  Casey  erected  a  small  pent- 


Appendix  IL  501 

angular  redoubt,  and  placed  within  it  six  pieces  of  artillery.  The  country  is 
mostly  wooded  and  greatly  intersected  with  marshes.  The  Nine-mile  road 
branching  to  the  right  from  the  Seven  Pines  slants  forward,  and  at  a  distance 
of  a  mile  crosses  the  railroad  at  Fair  Oaks.  A  mile  beyond  it  reaches  an 
open  field,  where  the  enemy  was  seen  in  line  of  battle  on  the  2gth  and  soth 
days  of  May. 

Casey's  pickets  were  only  about  one  thousand  yards  in  advance  of  his 
line  of  battle,  and  I  decided,  after  a  personal  inspection  with  him,  that  they ' 
could  go  no  farther,  as  they  were  stopped  by  the  enemy  in  force  on  the 
opposite  side  of  an  opening  at  that  point.  I  pushed  forward  the  pickets  on 
the  railroad  a  trifle,  and  they  had  been  extended  by  General  Naglee  to  the 
open  field,  where  the  enemy  was  seen  in  line  of  battle,  and  from  thence  to 
the  right  bank  of  the  Chickahominy.  After  a  thorough  examination  of  my 
whole  position  I  discovered  that  on  the  3Oth  of  May  the  enemy  were,  in 
greater  or  less  force,  closed  upon  the  whole  circumference  of  a  semicircle 
described  from  my  headquarters  near  Seven  Pines,  with  a  radius  of  two 
miles. 

A  considerable  space  about  the  fork  of  the  road  at  Seven  Pines  was  open, 
cultivated  ground,  and  there  was  a  clear  space  a  short  distance  in  front  of 
Casey's  redoubt  at  the  wood-pile.  Between  the  two  openings  we  found  a 
curtain  of  trees,  which  were  cut  down  to  form  an  abatis.  That  line  of 
abatis  was  continued  on  a  curve  to  the  right  and  rear  and  across  the  Nine- 
mile  road. 

When  the  battle  commenced  Casey's  division  was  in  front  of  the  abatis  ; 
Naglee's  brigade  on  the  right,  having  two  regiments  beyond  the  railroad  ; 
Palmer's  brigade  on  the  left,  and  Wessell's  brigade  in  the  centre.  Couch's 
division  was  on  the  right  and  left  of  the  Williamsburg  road,  near  the  forks, 
and  along  the  Nine-mile  road.  Peck's  brigade  was  on  the  left,  Devens' 
brigade  in  the  centre,  and  Abercrombie's  on  the  right,  having  two  regiments 
and  Brady's  battery  across  the  railroad,  near  Fair  Oaks,  thus  forming  two 
lines  of  battle. 

Through  all  the  night  of  the  soth  of  May  there  r/as  raging  a  storm  the 
like  of  which  I  cannot  remember.  Torrents  of  rain  drenched  the  earth,  the 
thunderbolts  rolled  and  fell  without  intermission,  and  the  heavens  flashed 
with  a  perpetual  blaze  of  lightning.  From  their  beds  of  mud  and  the  pelt- 
ings  of  this  storm  the  4th  Corps  rose  to  fight  the  battle  of  the  3ist  of  May, 
1862. 

At  about  10  o'clock  A.M.  it  was  announced  to  me  that  an  aide-de-camp 
of  Major-General  J.  E.  Johnston,  Confederate  States  Army,  had  been  capt 
ured  by  our  pickets  on  the  edge  of  the  field  referred  to  above,  beyond  Fair 
Oaks  Station.  While  speaking  with  the  young  gentleman,  at  the  moment 
of  sending  him  away,  a  couple  of  shots  fired  in  front  of  Casey's  headquarters 


5O2  Appendix  IT. 

produced  in  him  a  very  evident  emotion.  I  was  perplexed,  because  having 
seen  the  enemy  in  force  on  the  right  when  the  aide  was  captured  I  supposed 
his  chief  must  be  there.  Furthermore  the  country  was  more  open  in  that 
direction  and  the  road  in  front  of  Casey's  position  was  bad  for  artillery.  I 
concluded,  therefore,  in  spite  of  the  shots,  that  if  attacked  that  day  the 
attack  would  come  from  the  right.  Having  sent  orders  for  the  troops  to  be 
under  arms  precisely  at  II  o'clock  A.M.  I  mounted  my  horse  and  rode  along 
the  Nine-mile  road  to  Fair  Oaks  Station.  On  my  way  I  met  Colonel  Bailey, 
chief  of  artillery  of  Casey's  division,  and  directed  him  to  proceed  and  pre 
pare  his  artillery  for  action. 

Finding  nothing  unusual  at  Fair  Oaks,  I  gave  some  orders  to  the  troops 
there,  and  returned  quickly  to  Seven  Pines.  The  firing  was  becoming 
brisk,  but  there  was  yet  no  certainty  of  a  great  attack.  As  a  precaution  to 
support  Casey's  left  flank,  I  ordered  General  Couch  to  advance  Peck's  bri 
gade  in  that  direction.  This  was  promptly  done,  and  the  93 d  Pennsylvania, 
Colonel  McCarter,  was  advanced  considerably  beyond  the  balance  of  that 
brigade. 

About  I2|  P.M.  it  became  suddenly  apparent  that  the  attack  was  real 
and  in  great  force.  All  my  corps  was  under  arms  and  in  position.  I  sent 
immediately  to  General  Heintzelman  for  reinforcements,  and  requested 
him  to  order  one  brigade  up  the  railroad.  My  messenger  was  unaccount 
ably  delayed,  and  my  dispatch  appears  not  to  have  reached  its  destina 
tion  till  much  later  than  it  should  have  done.  General  Heintzelman  arrived 
on  the  field  at  about  4  P.M.,  and  the  two  brigades  of  his  corps,  Berry's 
and  Jameson's,  of  Kearny's  division,  which  took  part  in  the  battle  of  the 
3ist,  arrived  successively,  but  the  exact  times  of  their  arrival  in  the  pres 
ence  of  the  enemy  I  am  unable  to  fix  with  certainty  ;  and  in  this  report  I 
am  not  always  able  to  fix  times  with  exactness,  but  they  are  nearly  exact. 

Casey's  division,  holding  the  front  line,  was  first  seriously  attacked  at 
about  12.30  P.M.  The  iO3d  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  sent  forward  to  sup 
port  the  pickets,  broke  shortly  and  retreated,  joined  by  a  great  many  sick. 
The  numbers  as  they  passed  down  the  road  as  stragglers  conveyed  an 
exaggerated  idea  of  surprise  and  defeat.  There  was  no  surprise,  how 
ever.  All  the  effective  men  of  that  division  were  under  arms,  and  all  the 
batteries  were  in  position,  with  their  horses  harnessed  (except  some  belong 
ing  to  the  guns  in  the  redoubt)  and  ready  to  fight  as  soon  as  the  enemy's 
forces  came  into  view.  Their  numbers  were  vastly  disproportionate  to  the 
mighty  host  which  assailed  them  in  front  and  on  both  flanks. 

As  remarked  above,  the  picket  line  being  only  about  one  thousand  yards 
in  advance  of  the  line  of  battle,  and  the  country  covered  with  forests,  the 
Confederates,  arriving  fresh  and  confident,  formed  their  lines  and  masses 
under  the  shelter  of  the  woods,  and  burst  upon  us  with  great  suddenness,  and 


Appendix  II.  503 

had  not  our  regiments  been  under  arms  they  would  have  swept  through 
our  lines  and  routed  us  completely.  As  it  was,  however,  Casey's  division 
held  its  line  of  battle  for  more  than  three  hours,  and  the  execution  done 
upon  the  enemy  was  shown  by  the  number  of  rebel  dead  left  upon  the  field 
after  the  enemy  had  held  possession  of  that  part  of  it  for  upward  of 
twenty-four  hours.  During  that  time  it  is  understood  all  the  means  of 
transport  available  in  Richmond  were  employed  to  carry  away  their  dead 
and  wounded.  The  enemy  advancing,  as  they  frequently  did,  in  masses, 
received  the  shot  and  shell  of  our  artillery  like  veterans,  closing  up  the 
gaps  and  moving  steadily  on  to  the  assault.  From  my  position,  in  the  front 
of  the  second  line,  I  could  see  all  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  but  was 
not  always  able  to  discover  his  numbers,  which  were  more  or  less  concealed 
by  the  trees,  nor  could  I  accurately  define  the  movements  of  our  regiments 
and  batteries. 

For  the  details  of  the  conflict  with  Casey's  line  I  must  refer  to  his  report, 
and  to  the  reports  of  Brigadier-Generals  Naglee,  Palmer,  and  Wessells, 
whose  activity  I  had  many  opportunities  to  witness.  When  applied  to  for 
them,  I  sent  reinforcements  to  sustain  Casey's  line  until  the  numbers  were 
so  much  reduced  in  the  second  line  that  no  more  could  be  spared.  I  then 
refused,  though  applied  to  for  further  aid. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  describe  the  operations  of  the  second  line,  which 
received  my  uninterrupted  supervision,  composed  principally  of  Couch's 
division,  second  line.  As  the  pressure  on  Casey's  division  became  greater, 
he  applied  to  me  for  reinforcements.  I  continued  to  send  them  as  long  as 
I  had  troops  to  spare.  Colonel  McCarter,  with  the  93d  Pennsylvania,  Peck's 
brigade,  engaged  the  enemy  on  the  left,  and  maintained  his  ground  above 
two  hours,  until  overwhelming  numbers  forced  him  to  retire,  which  he  did 
in  good  order. 

At  about  2  o'clock  P.M.  I  ordered  the  55th  New  York  (Colonel  De  Tro- 
briand,  absent,  sick),  now  in  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Thorout,  to 
"save  the  guns,"  meaning  some  of  Casey's.  The  regiment  moved  up  the 
Williamsburg  road  at  double-quick,  conducted  by  General  Naglee,  where  it 
beat  off  the  enemy  on  the  point  of  seizing  some  guns,  and  held  its  position 
more  than  an  hour.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  its  ammunition  being  exhausted, 
it  fell  back  through  the  abatis,  and  after  receiving  more  cartridges  the  regi 
ment  again  did  good  service.  It  lost  in  the  battle  nearly  one-fourth  of  its 
numbers,  killed  and  wounded.  At  a  little  past  2  o'clock  I  ordered  Neill's 
23d  and  Rippey's  6ist  Pennsylvania  regiments  to  move  to  the  support  of 
Casey's  right.  Neill  attacked  the  enemy  twice  with  great  gallantry.  In  the 
first  attack  the  enemy  were  driven  back.  In  the  second  attack,  and  under 
the  immediate  command  of  General  Couch,  these  two  regiments  assailed  a 
vastly  superior  force  of  the  enemy,  and  fought  with  extraordinary  bravery, 


504  Appendix  IL 

though  compelled  at  last  to  retire.  They  brought  in  thirty-five  prisoners. 
Both  regiments  were  badly  cut  up.  Colonel  Rippey,  of  the  6ist,  and  his 
adjutant  were  killed.  The  lieutenant-colonel  and  major  were  wounded 
and  are  missing.  The  casualties  in  the  6ist  amount  to  two  hundred  and 
sixty-three,  and  are  heavier  than  in  any  other  regiment  in  Couch's  division. 
After  this  attack  the  23d  took  part  in  the  hard  fighting  which  closed  the  day 
near  the  Seven  Pines.  The  6ist  withdrew  in  detachments,  some  of  which 
came  again  into  action  near  my  headquarters. 

Almost  immediately  after  ordering  the  23d  and  6ist  to  support  the  right, 
and  as  soon  as  they  could  be  reached,  I  sent  the  7th  Massachusetts,  Colonel 
Russell,  and  the  62d  New  York,  Colonel  Riker,  to  reinforce  them.  The 
overpowering  advance  of  the  enemy  obliged  those  regiments  to  proceed  to 
Fair  Oaks,  where  they  fought  under  the  immediate  orders  of  Generals  Couch 
and  Abercrombie.  There  they  joined  the  1st  U.  S.  Chasseurs,  Colonel 
Cochrane,  previously  ordered  to  that  point,  and  the  3ist  Pennsylvania,  Col 
Williams,  on  duty  there  when  the  action  commenced.  The  losses  in  the 
62d  were  not  so  great  as  in  some  of  the  other  regiments  ;  its  conduct  was 
good,  and  its  colonel,  Lafayette  Riker,  whose  signal  bravery  was  remarked, 
met  a  glorious  death  while  attacking  the  enemy  at  the  head  of  his  regiment. 
The  ist  U.  S.  Chasseurs,  Colonel  Cochrane,  fought  bravely.  By  that  regi 
ment  our  enemy's  standard-bearer  was  shot  down  and  the  battle-flags  of  the 
22d  North  Carolina  Regiment  captured. 

For  further  particulars  of  the  conduct  of  the  62d  New  York  and  the  1st 
U.  S.  Chasseurs,  as  well  as  for  the  account  of  those  two  excellent  regiments, 
the  7th  Massachusetts  and  3ist  Pennsylvania,  Colonels  Russell  and  Wil 
liams,  I  refer  to  the  reports  of  Generals  Couch  and  Abercrombie.  Those 
regiments,  as  well  as  Brady's  battery,  1st  Pennsylvania  Artillery  (which  is 
highly  praised),  were  hid  from  my  personal  observation  during  most  of  the 
action.  They  acted  in  concert  with  the  2d  Corps,  by  the  opportune  arrival 
of  which  at  Fair  Oaks  in  the  afternoon,  under  the  brave  General  E.  V. 
Sumner,  the  Confederates  were  brought  to  a  sudden  stand  in  that  quarter. 
They  were  also  present  in  the  action  of  the  following  day  near  Fair  Oaks, 
where,  under  the  same  commander,  the  victory,  which  had  been  hardly  con 
tested  the  day  before,  was  fully  completed  by  our  troops. 

At  the  time  when  the  enemy  was  concentrating  troops  from  the  right, 
left  and  front  upon  the  redoubt  and  other  works  in  the  front  of  Casey's  head 
quarters  and  near  the  Williamsburg  road,  the  danger  became  imminent 
that  he  would  overcome  the  resistance  there  and  advance  down  the  road 
and  through  the  abatis.  In  anticipation  of  such  an  attempt  I  called 
Flood's  and  McCarthy's  batteries  of  Couch's  division  to  form  in  and  on  the 
right  and  left  of  the  junction  of  the  Williamsburg  and  Nine-mile  roads, 
placed  infantry  in  all  the  rifle-pits  on  the  right  and  left,  pushing  some  up 


Appendix  II.  505 

also  to  the  abatis,  and  collecting  a  large  number  of  stragglers  posted  them 
in  the  woods  on  the  left.  Scarcely  had  these  dispositions  been  completed 
when  the  enemy  directly  in.  front,  driven  by  the  attack  of  a  portion  of 
Kearny's  division  on  their  right,  and  by  our  fire  upon  their  front,  moved 
off  to  join  the  masses  which  were  pressing  upon  my  right. 

To  make  head  against  the  enemy  approaching  in  that  direction  it  was 
^ound  necessary  to  effect  an  almost  perpendicular  change  of  front  of  the 
troops  on  the  right  of  the  Williamsburg  road.  By  the  energetic  assistance 
of  Generals  Devens  and  Neglee,  Colonel  Adams,  1st  Long  Island,  and 
Captains  Walsh  and  Quackenbush,  of  the  36th  New  York,  whose  efforts  I 
particularly  noticed,  I  was  enabled  to  form  a  line  along  the  edge  of  the 
woods,  which  stretched  nearly  down  to  the  swamp,  about  eight  hundred 
yards  from  the  fork,  and  along  and  near  to  the  Nine-mile  road.  I  threw 
back  the  right  crotchetwise,  and  on  its  left  Captain  Miller,  1st  Pennsyl 
vania  Artillery,  Couch's  division,  trained  his  guns  so  as  to  contest  the  ad 
vance  of  the  enemy. 

I  directed  General  Naglee  to  ride  along  the  line,  to  encourage  the  men 
and  keep  them  at  work.  This  line  long  resisted  the  progress  of  the  enemy 
with  the  greatest  firmness  and  gallantry,  but  by  pressing  it  very  closely 
with  overwhelming  numbers,  probably  ten  to  one,  they  were  enabled  finally 
to  force  it  to  fall  back  so  far  upon  the  left  and  centre  as  to  form  a  new 
line  in  rear.  Shortly  after  this  attack  I  saw  General  Devens  leave  the 
field  wounded.  There  was  then  no  general  officer  left  in  sight  belonging 
to  Couch's  division.  Seeing  the  torrent  of  enemies  continually  advancing 
I  hastened  across  to  the  left  beyond  the  fork  to  bring  forward  reinforce 
ments.  Brigadier-General  Peck,  at  the  head  of  the  iO2d  and  Q3d  Penn 
sylvania  regiments,  Colonels  Rowley  and  McCarter,  was  ordered,  with  the 
concurrence  of  General  Heintzelman,  to  advance  across  the  open  space  and 
attack  the  enemy,  now  coming  forward  in  great  numbers.  Those  regiments 
passed  through  a  shower  of  balls,  and  formed  in  a  line  having  an  oblique 
direction  to  the  Nine-mile  road.  They  held  their  ground  for  more  than 
half  an  hour,  doing  great  execution.  Peck's  and  McCarter's  horses  were 
shot  under  them.  After  contending  against  enormous  odds  those  two  regi 
ments  were  forced  to  give  way,  Peck  and  the  iO2d  crossing  the  Williams- 
burg  road  to  the  wood,  and  McCarter  and  the  bulk  of  the  Q3d  passing  to 
the  right,  where  they  took  post  in  the  last  line  of  battle,  formed  mostly  after 
6  o'clock  P.  M.  During  the  time  last  noticed  Miller's  battery,  having  taken 
up  a  new  position,  did  first-rate  service. 

As  soon  as  Peck  had  moved  forward  I  hastened  to  the  roth  Massachusetts, 
Colonel  Briggs,  which  regiment  I  had  myself  once  before  moved,  now  in 
the  rifle-pits  on  the  left  of  the  Williamsburg  road,  and  ordered  them  to 
follow  me  across  the  field.  Colonel  Briggs  led  them  on  in  gallant  style, 


506  Appendix  II. 

moving  quickly  over  an  open  space  of  seven  or  eight  hundred  yards,  under 
a  scorching  fire,  and  forming  his  men  with  perfect  regularity  towards  the 
right  of  the  line  last  above  referred  to.  The  position  thus  occupied  was  a 
most  favorable  one,  being  in  a  wood,  without  much  undergrowth,  where  the 
ground  sloped  somewhat  abruptly  to  the  rear.  This  line  was  stronger  on 
the  right  than  on  the  left.  Had  the  loth  Massachusetts  been  two  minutes 
later  they  would  have  been  too  late  to  occupy  that  fine  position,  and  it  would 
have  been  impossible  to  have  formed  the  next  and  last  line  of  the  battle  of 
the  3ist,  which  stemmed  the  tide  of  defeat  and  turned  it  toward  victory — a 
victory  which  was  then  begun  by  the  4th  Corps  and  two  brigades  of  Kearny's 
division  of  the  3d  Corps,  and  consummated  the  next  day  by  Sumner  and 
others. 

And  seeing  the  loth  Massachusetts  and  the  adjoining  line  well  at  work 
under  a  murderous  fire  I  observed  that  that  portion  of  the  line,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  to  my  left,  was  crumbling  away,  some  falling  and  others 
retiring.  I  perceived  also  that  the  artillery  had  withdrawn,  and  that  large 
bodies  of  broken  troops  were  leaving  the  centre  and  moving  down  the  Wil- 
liamsburg  road  to  the  rear.  Assisted  by  Captain  Suydam,  my  assistant 
adjutant-general,  Captain  Villarceau,  and  Lieutenants  Jackson  and  Smith, 
of  my  staff,  I  tried  in  vain  to  check  the  retreating  current. 

Passing  through  to  the  opening  of  our  intrenched  camps  of  the  28th 
ultimo  I  found  General  Heintzelman  and  other  officers  engaged  in  rallying 
the  men,  and  in  a  very  short  time  a  large  number  were  induced  to  face  about. 
These  were  pushed  forward  and  joined  to  others  better  organized  in  the 
woods,  and  a  line  was  formed  stretching  across  the  road  in  a  perpendicular 
direction.  General  Heintzelman  requested  me  to  advance  the  line  on  the  left 
of  the  road,  which  I  did,  until  it  came  within  some  sixty  or  seventy  yards  of 
the  opening  in  which  the  battle  had  been  confined  for  more  than  two  hours, 
against  a  vastly  superior  force.  Some  of  the  loth  Massachusetts,  now  under 
the  command  of  Captain  Miller  ;  the  93d  Pennsylvania,  under  Colonel 
McCarter,  of  Peck's  brigade  ;  the  23d  Pennsylvania,  Colonel  Neill,  of  Aber- 
crombie's  brigade  ;  a  portion  of  the  36th  New  York,  Colonel  Innis  ;  a  por 
tion  of  the  55th  New  York,  and  the  1st  Long  Island,  Colonel  Adams  ; 
together  with  fragments  of  other  regiments  of  Couch's  division,  still  con 
tended  on  the  right  of  this  line,  while  a  number  of  troops  that  I  did  not 
recognize  occupied  the  space  between  me  and  them. 

As  the  ground  was  miry  and  encumbered  with  fallen  trees  I  dismounted 
and  mingled  with  the  troops.  The  first  I  questioned  belonged  to  Kearny's 
division,  Berry's  brigade,  Heintzelman's  corps  ;  the  next  to  the  56th  New 
York,  now  under  command  of  its  lieutenant-colonel,  and  the  third  be 
longed  to  the  iO4th  Pennsylvania,  of  Casey's  division.  I  took  out  my 
glass  to  examine  a  steady,  compact  line  of  troops  about  sixty- five  yards  in 


Appendix  II.  507 

advance,  the  extent  of  which,  towards  our  right,  I  could  not  discover.  The 
line  in  front  was  so  quiet  that  I  thought  they  might  possibly  be  our  own 
troops.  The  vapors  from  the  swamps,  the  leaves  and  the  fading  light 
(for  it  was  then  after  6  o'clock)  rendered  it  uncertain  who  they  were,  so  I 
directed  the  men  to  get  their  aim,  but  to  reserve  their  fire  until  I  could  go 
up  to  the  left  and  examine — at  the  same  time  saying  that  they  must  hold  that 
line  or  the  battle  would  be  lost.  They  replied  with  a  firm  determination  to 
stand  their  ground. 

I  had  just  time  to  put  up  my  glass  and  move  ten  paces  towards  the  left 
of  the  line  where  my  horse  stood,  but  while  I  was  in  the  act  of  mounting  as 
fierce  a  fire  of  musketry  was  opened  as  any  I  had  heard  during  the  day. 
The  fire  from  our  side  was  so  deadly  that  the  heavy  masses  of  the  enemy  com 
ing  in  on  the  right,  which  before  had  been  held  back  for  nearly  two  hours 
(that  being  about  the  time  consumed  in  passing  over  less  than  a  thousand 
yards)  by  about  a  third  part  of  Couch's  division,  were  now  arrested.  The 
last  line,  formed  of  portions  of  Couch's  and  Casey's  divisions  and  a  portion 
of  Kearny's  division,  checked  the  advance  of  the  enemy  and  finally  re 
pulsed  him,  and  this  was  the  beginning  of  the  victory  which  on  the  follow 
ing  day  was  so  gloriously  completed. 

During  the  action,  and  particularly  during  the  two  hours  immediately 
preceding  the  final  successful  stand  made  by  the  infantry,  the  three  Penn 
sylvania  batteries,  under  Major  Robert  M.  West  (Flood's,  McCarthy's, 
and  Miller's),  in  Couch's  division,  performed  most  efficient  service.  The 
conduct  of  Miller's  battery  was  admirable.  Having  a  central  position  in 
the  forepart  of  the  action  it  threw  shells  over  the  heads  of  our  own  troops, 
which  fell  and  burst  with  unusual  precision  among  the  enemy's  masses, 
as  did  also  those  of  the  other  two  batteries  ;  and  later  in  the  day,  when 
the  enemy  was  rushing  in  upon  our  right,  Miller  threw  his  case  and  canister 
among  them,  doing  frightful  execution.  The  death  of  several  officers  of 
high  rank  and  the  disability  and  wounds  of  others  have  delayed  this  report. 

It  has  been  my  design  to  state  nothing  as  a  fact  which  could  not  be  sub 
stantiated.  Many  things  escaped  notice  by  reason  of  the  forests,  which  con 
cealed  our  own  movements  as  well  as  the  movements  of  the  enemy.  From 
this  cause  some  of  the  reports  of  subordinate  commanders  are  not  suffi 
ciently  full.  In  some  cases  it  is  apparent  that  these  subordinate  com 
manders  were  not  always  in  the  best  positions  to  observe,  and  this  will  account 
for  the  circumstance  that  I  have  mentioned  some  facts  derived  from  per 
sonal  observation  not  found  in  the  reports  of  my  subordinates.  The  reports 
of  division  and  brigade  commanders  I  trust  will  be  published  with  this  im 
mediately.  I  ask  their  publication  as  an  act  of  simple  justice  to  the  4th 
Corps,  against  which  many  groundless  aspersions  and  incorrect  statements 
have  been  circulated  in  the  newspapers  since  the  battle.  These  reports  are 


508  Appendix  II. 

made  by  men  who  observed  the  conflict  while  under  fire,  and  if  they  are 
not  in  the  main  true  the  truth  will  never  be  known. 

In  the  battle  of  the  3ist  of  May  the  casualties  on  our  side  (a  list  of 
which  is  enclosed)  were  heavy,  amounting  to  something  like  twenty-five  per 
cent,  in  killed  and  wounded  of  the  number  actually  engaged,  which  did  not 
amount  to  more  than  1 2,000,  the  4th  Corps  at  that  date  having  been  much 
weakened  by  detachments  and  other  causes.  Nearly  all  who  were  struck 
were  hit  while  facing  the  enemy. 

The  Confederates  outnumbered  us,  during  a  great  part  of  the  conflict,  at 
least  four  to  one,  and  they  were  fresh  drilled  troops,  led  on  and  cheered  by 
their  best  generals  and  the  President  of  their  Republic.  They  are  right 
when  they  assert  that  the  Yankees  stubbornly  contested  every  foot  of 
ground.  Of  the  nine  generals  of  the  4th  Corps  who  were  present  on  the 
field,  all,  with  one  exception,  were  wounded  or  his  horse  was  hit  in  the 
battle.  A  large  proportion  of  all  the  field  officers  in  the  action  were 
killed,  wounded,  or  their  horses  were  struck.  These  facts  denote  the  fierce 
ness  of  the  contest  and  the  gallantry  of  a  large  majority  of  the  officers. 
Many  officers  have  been  named  and  commended  in  this  report  and  in  reports 
of  division,  brigade,  and  other  commanders,  and  I  will  not  here  recapitu 
late  further  than  that  I  received  great  assistance  from  the  members  of  my 
staff,  whose  conduct  was  excellent,  though  they  were  necessarily  often 
separated  from  me. 

To  the  energy  and  skill  of  Surgeon  F.  H.  Hamilton,  the  chief  of  his  depart 
ment  in  the  4th  Corps,  and  the  assistance  he  received  from  his  subordinate 
surgeons,  the  wounded  and  sick  are  indebted  'for  all  the  relief  and  comfort 
which  it  was  possible  to  afford  them. 

I  should  be  glad  if  the  name  of  every  individual  who  kept  his  place  in 
the  long  struggle  could  be  known.*  All  those  deserve  praise  and  reward. 

*  There  is  no  incident  of  the  war  which  I  keep  in  remembrance  with  so  much  de 
light  as  the  closing  scene  of  the  battle  of  the  3ist  of  May,  1862. 

In  the  advancing  twilight  of  that  long,  bloody  day,  while  I  walked  in  the  last  line 
that  had  been  so  terribly  thinned  by  deaths,  disability,  and  desertions,  I  strode  with 
the  elite  of  the  brave.  The  mad  surges  and  tempest  of  the  battle  had  winnowed  out 
the  unworthy.  The  cowards  had  fled ;  the  recreants  had  slunk  to  the  rear ;  those  feeble 
creatures  who  could  be  exhausted  by  an  eight  or  ten  hours'  struggle,  had  limped  to 
their  repose.  All  the  braggarts,  and  such  as  quit  the  fray  early  to  proclaim  their  own 
exploits,  and  to  smear  with  calumny  their  associates,  had  departed.  In  "their  stead 
were  gathered  from  all  the  brigades  a  band  of  heroes  who  coalesced  by  a  natural  at 
traction  to  achieve  a  victory  and  save  the  Union.  I  know  not  how  it  is  that  clustered 
jewels  enhance  the  lustre  of  one  another,  but  so  it  was  with  the  men  around  me.  They 
were  all  begrimed  with  mud  and  sweat,  and  their  visages  were 

"  As  black  as  Vulcan's  with  the  smoke  of  war," 

and  still  they  were  beautiful.  Carnal  fear  had  never  debased  them,  and  in  their  pres 
ence  I  felt  a  charm  which  I  shall  remember  till  death. 


Appendix  II.  509 

On  the  other  hand  the  men  who  left  the  ranks  and  the  field,  and  especially 
the  officers  who  went  away  without  orders,  should  be  known  and  held  up  to 
scorn.  In  all  the  retreating  groups  I  discovered  officers,  and  sometimes  the 
officers  were  farthest  in  the  rear.  What  hope  can  we  have  of  the  safety  of 
the  country  when  even  a  few  military  officers  turn  their  backs  upon  the 
enemy  without  orders  ?  Such  officers  should  be  discharged  and  disgraced, 
and  brave  men  advanced  to  their  places.  The  task  of  reformation  is  not 
easy,  because  much  true  manliness  has  been  suffocated  in  deluding  theories, 
and  the  improvement  will  not  be  complete  until  valor  is  more  esteemed,  nor 
until  we  adopt  as  a  maxim  that  to  decorate  a  coward  with  shoulder-straps  is 
to  pave  the  road  to  a  nation's  ruin. 
Respectfully  submitted. 

E.  D.  KEYES, 

Brig.-Gen.t  Comdg.  ^th  Corps. 
Brigadier-General  S.  WILLIAMS, 

Adjt.-Gen.  Army  of  Potomac, 


INDEX. 


Abercrombie,  General,  462,  468. 
Adams,  Charles  Francis,  344. 
Adams,  John  Quincy,  46,  115. 
Adams,  Mrs.  John  Quincy,  115. 
Agassiz,  Professor,  63. 
Alburtis,  Captain  William,  155. 
Alden,  Bradford  R.,  136. 
Alexander,  Lieut.  B.  L.,  229. 
Allen,  Col.  Robert,  216. 
Anderson,  Captain  Robert,  iSS,  367, 

373- 

Andrews,  Gen.  Geo.  P.,  116,  223. 
Andrews,  Major,  228. 
Annilini,  Father,  88. 
Armistead,  General  W.  K.,  176. 
Armstrong,  Secretary,  105. 
Arthur.  Chester  A.,  409. 
Aspinwall,  W.  H.,  349,  350. 
Astor,  John  Jacob,  15. 
Atkinson,  General,  119. 
Austin,  Lieut.,  176. 
Ayers,  Lieut.,  176,  177,  181. 

Bailey,  Prof.,  63. 

Baker,  Edward  D.,  302,  303. 

Bancroft,  George,  69. 

Bankhead,  Col.,  9. 

Bannister,  Dwight,  463. 

Barnard,  Gen.  J.  G.,  445. 

Barnes,  Surgeon-General,  288. 

Barnes,  William  H.  L.,  309,  310. 

Bayard,  Thomas  F.,  147. 

Benson,  John,  229. 

Benton,  Thomas  H.,  ill,  117,  146- 

151,  403. 

Biddle,  Nicholas,  in. 
Birney,  General,  472. 
Black,  Jeremiah  S.,  I,  2,  338. 
Blair,  Francis  P.,  119. 
Blunt,  Joseph,  n. 
Bomford,  Col.,  in. 


Boyd,  James  T.,  313. 

Brady,  General,  5,  119. 

Brady,  James  T.,  301. 

Bragg>   General    Braxton,    176-181, 

375- 

Breckinridge,  John  C. ,  101. 
Brooke,  Maj. -General,  156. 
Brougham,  Lord,  12,  13. 
Brown,  General,  106. 
Brown,  Col.  Harvey,  351,  385,  400. 
Brown,  Jacob,  115. 
Bruce,  General,  332. 
Buchanan,  Jas.,  I,  329,  414. 
Buchanan,  J.  C.,  147. 
Buckner,  Simon,  214. 
Buell,  Don  Carlos,  215. 
Burke,  Edmund,  10. 
Burke,  Col.  Martin,    176,   177,  182- 

187. 

Burlingame,  Anson,  291. 
Burnside,  A.  E.,  201. 
Burr,  Aaron,  100,  102. 
Butler,  Benjamin  F.,  328,  402,  403. 
Byers,  Mr.,  96. 

Caldwell,  Sir  John,  36,  38,  142. 
Calhoun,  John  C.,   14,  15,  101,  130, 

147- 

Cameron,  Simon,  348,  349,  419. 
Carlyle,  Thomas,  41. 
Carter,  Cadet,  78. 
Casey,  Col.  Silas,  254,  260,  451,  456, , 

460. 

Cass,  Lewis,  116,  338. 
Chandler,  Zach.,  329,  344. 
Channing,  Rev.  Wm.  Ellery,  46,  47, 

138,  139- 

Charles  V.,  of  Spain,  16. 
Charles  XII.  of  Sweden,  23,  134. 
Chase,  Salmon  P.,  464,  488,  489. 
Chase,  Col.  William,  356. 


512 


Index. 


Childs,  Thomas,  164. 

Church,  Albert  E.,   196. 

Churchill,  Lieut.,  176,  177,  181. 

Clark,  General  N.  S.,  265. 

Clarke,  Caroline  M.,  32. 

Clay,    Henry,    10,   14,   15,   122,  138, 

140,  147. 

Clinton,  De  Witt,  113. 
Cobb,  Howell,  338. 
Coombe,  Professor,  33. 
Cope,  Judge,  313, 
Corey,  Mrs.,  7- 
Corwin,  Thomas,  362. 
Couch,  General  D.  N.,  457,  476. 
Courier,  Paul  Louis,  327. 
Cozzens,  Mr.,  60,  61. 
Crittenden,  John  J.,  36-38,  341-346. 
Cullum,  George  W.,  192-194,  202. 

Dade,  Major,  170. 

Dandy,  General,  284. 

David,  49-52,  125. 

Davis,  Jefferson,  215,  260,  426. 

Davis,  John,  147. 

Dearborn,  Maj.-Gen.,  105. 

Delafield,    Colonel,    121,     189,    192, 

193- 

Dent,  Lieutenant,  266,  279. 
Derby,  George,  198,  201. 
D'Espinasse,  General,  67. 
Devens,  General,  454. 
Dixon,  Senator,  342. 
Dodge,  Colonel,  202. 
Doubleday,  General  Abner,  371. 
Douglass,  Stephen  A.,  329. 
Duane,  Lieutenant,  356,  357. 
"Duck,  Sydney,"  292,  295. 
Duncan,  James,  154,  155. 

Eaton,  Mrs.,  in. 
Eustis,  Colonel,  9. 
Evans,  Senator,  36. 
Everett,  Edward,  36,  37. 

Fairfield,  Governor,  36,  107. 
Felton,  John  B.,  312. 
Fenwick,  Lieut. -Col.,  104. 
Field,  Lieutenant,  176,  177,  181. 
Fish,  Hamilton,  349. 
Floyd,  John  B.,  135,  287,  338,  372. 
Folsom,  Joseph  L.,  225. 
Forsyth,  Mr.,  129,  130. 
Franklin,  Samuel  R.,  482. 


Fremont,  John  C.,  244,  440 
Fry,  James  B.,  201. 

Gaines,  General  E.  P.,  115,  116,  135, 

171,  173- 

Gait,  Captain,  51,  52. 

Gardner,  Col.  John  L.,  370. 

Gates,  Gen.  William,  176. 

Gibbs,  Alfred,  160. 

Gibbs,  George,  262. 

Gibson,  Lieut.  H.  G.,  202,  228,  236. 

Gill,  Lieut.  W.  G.,  228. 

Goldsmith,  Oliver,  30. 

Graham,  Secretary,  112. 

Grant,  General  U.S.,  207-222. 

Grant,  Mrs.  U.  S.,  212. 

Greeley,  Horace,  103. 

Greenough,  Mrs.,  330. 

Gregg,  Lieut.,  269. 

Grier,  William  N.,  266. 

Grundy,  Felix,  147. 

Gurowski,  Count,  440,  441. 

Gwin,  Dr.  William  M.,  244,  341,  417. 

Hager,  John  S.,  313. 

"  Haler,  Captain,"  234,  235. 

Halleck,    General    H.  W.,   80,    168, 

214-217,  440. 
Hamilton,  Dr.  Frank,  461,  462,  471, 

482. 

Hamlin,  Hannibal,  412. 
Hammond,  J.  F.,  267,  283. 
Hancock,  Gen.  W.  S.,  448,  449. 
Hardee,  Col.  W.  J.,  333,  334- 
Harney,  Surgeon,  171. 
Harney,  Maj.-Gen.  W.  S.,  287-289. 
Harris,  Senator  Ira,  442,  445. 
Harrison,  Lieut.  James  E.,  252,  253. 
Harrison,  Wm.  Henry,  II,  137-139. 
Hart,  Lieut.  W.  C.  De,  4. 
Harvey,  Sir  John,  36,  38,  138,  142. 
Hawkes,  Dr.,  6,  44,  46,  77. 
Heintzelman,  General,  453. 
Heiskell,  Dr.,  no. 
Henderson,  Surgeon,  120. 
Henry,  Patrick,  10. 
Hewett,  Captain,  252,  253. 
Hill,  Jim,  177,  178. 
Hitchcock,  Surgeon  C.  M.,  132,  200, 

232. 

Hodge,  Captain,  435. 
Hodge,  Joseph,  304,  305. 


Index. 


Hoffman,  Ogden,  6,  36,  37,  55,  313, 

316,  317- 

Holt,  Secretary,  376,  415. 
Hooker,  Gen.  Joseph,  477. 
Howard,  W.  D.  M.,  227. 

Irving,  Washington,  69. 

Jackson  Andrew,  15,  77,  102,  105, 
108-122,  141,  146,  150,  191. 

Jackson,  General  Stonewall,  198, 
209,  215. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  101,  102. 

Jessup,  General,  118. 

Johnson,  Dr.  Samuel,  29,  30,  38,  89. 

Johnson,  Albert  Sidney,  215,  286, 
355,420,  421. 

Johnston,  Joseph  E.,  215,  216,  222, 

458,  459- 

Jones,  General,  3. 
Jones,  George  R.,  199. 
Joset,  Father,  273,  274. 
Judd,  Col.  Henry  B.,  176,  180. 

Kanaskat,  257-261. 

Kautz,  Lieut.  A.  V.,  258-261. 

Kearny,  Philip,  470-472. 

Kemble,  Gouverneur,  36,  68-70,  104, 

331,  349. 

Keyes,  Dr.  E.  L.,  297,  355. 
King,   Charles,  6,    33,  36,    46,    125, 

461. 

King,  Charles,  Mrs.,  33. 
King,  Horatio,  338. 
Kipp,  Lieut.  L.,  267,  284. 
Kirkham,  General  R.  W.,  266,  283. 
Knowlton,  Capt.  Miner,  188. 

Lachaud,  M.,  299,  3O1- 

La  Fayette,  HI. 

Lamon,  Mr.,  378. 

Lane,  Harriet,  330. 

Lane,  Joe,  341. 

Lee,  Robert  E.,  69,   166,  188,  189, 

192,  198,  204-221,  317,  3i8. 
Legree,  Hugh,  5,  117. 
Lincoln,  Abraham,    140,    141,    334~ 

341,  378-387,  4IO-438,  486. 
Lindsay,  Col.,  9. 
Longfellow,  Henry  W.,  75- 
Lyon,  Captain  E.,  359. 
Lyons,  Lord,  332,  333. 


Macomb,     General,     115-119,     129, 

130. 

Magruder,  Prince  John,  128. 
Maloney,  Capt.  Maurice,  254. 
Manro,  J.  P.,  291. 
Marcy,  General  R.  B.,  455. 
Marcy,  William  L.,  36,  37,  147. 
Martineau,  Harriet,  147. 
Mason,  Colonel,  228. 
Mason,  Jeremiah,  36,  37. 
Mason,  Mrs.,  115. 
Mather,  General,  360. 
May,  Lieutenant,  224. 
Mayo,  55- 

McAllister,  Hall,  72,  148,  305-308. 
McAllister,  Julian,  201. 
McCall,  Captain,  171. 
McClellan,  Gen.  George  B.,  197-216, 

438-453,  409»  480-488. 
McCook,  General,  88. 
McDowell,  General  Irwin,  189,  431- 

433- 

McKee,  John,  233. 
McKibbin,  Lieut.  David  B.,  259. 
McKinstry,  Judge,  313. 
Meigs,  Capt.  M.  C.,  389-392. 
Mendell,  Col.  Geo.  H.,  261. 
Mercer,  Lieut.  Hugh  W.,  3,  6. 
Merchant,  S.  L.,  245. 
Michler,  Nathaniel,  202. 
Minie,  Captain,  17. 
Mirabeau,  10. 
Monroe,  James,  125. 
Morgan,  E.  D.,  407,  408. 
Morgan,  Lieut.  M.  R-,  280,  281. 
Moses,  Chief,  282. 
Mower,  Dr.,  5. 

Mullan,  Lieut.  John,  266,  283. 
Munro,  Captain  Jock,  8. 
Myers,  Gen.  A.  C.,  176, 180. 

Naglee,  Gen.  Henry  M.,  472-479. 
Napoleon,  65. 
Newcastle,  Duke  of,  332. 

O'Conor,  Charles,  301. 
Ord,  Capt.  E.  O.  C.,  263,  268. 
Otis,  Harrison  Gray,  36,  37. 
Owen,  Lieut.  P.  A.,  267. 
Owhi,  280-283. 

Palmer,  Gen.  I.  N.,  459,  467. 
Palmerston,  Lord,  12. 


Index. 


Paris,  Comte  de,  465,  467,  481. 

Parrott,  Mr.,  69,  296. 

Parsons,  Levi,  291,  294. 

Patrick,  M.  R.,  409. 

Paulding,  Mr.,  69. 

Peck,  General,  476. 

Peyton,  Bailey,  109. 

Piatt,  Don,  435. 

Pierce,  Franklin,  u,  103,  145. 

Pillow,  Gideon  J.,  153,  159,  214. 

Poinselt,  Mr.,  36,  69,  122,  125-130. 

Polk,  James  K.,  102,  145-153. 

Preston,  William  C.,  36,  37,  69,  117, 

129. 
Priest,  Albert,  243. 

Qualchein,  276-278. 

Randolph,  Senator,  241. 
Read,  J.  Meredith,  409. 
Reynolds,  Maj.-Gen.  John  F.,  176- 

179. 

Riall,  General,  106. 
Riley,  Colonel,  152. 
Riley,  General,  292. 
Rosecrans,  General  W.  S.,  440. 
Ross,  Edward  C.,  195. 
Rousseau,  J.  J.,  71. 
Rush,  Mrs.,  115. 

Sackett,  General,  211. 

Saint  Germans,  Lord,  332. 

Savage,  Major,  233. 

Seward,  William  H.,  352,  380-383, 
419-424. 

Schover,  Lieut.,  169. 

Scott,  Adelaide  Canaille,  202. 

Scott,  Gen.  Winfield,  I,  2,  7,  8,  10, 
13,  15,  19-24,  31,  34,  38,  46,  48, 
59.  65,  77,  92,  98,  loo,  107,  120, 
129,  137,  139,  158,  162,  183,  188, 
202,  206,  218,  318,  324,  327,  332, 
334.  339»  341,  361,  378,  383,  384. 
404-410,  419-425- 

Scott,  Mrs.  General,  29,  51. 

Sherman,  John,  343. 

Sherman,  Maj.-Gen.  Thos.  W.,  176- 
180. 

Sherman,  William  T.,  163,  176,  177, 
216,  218,  225,  246,  431,  435. 

Shriver,  Captain,  162. 

Slaughter,  William  A.,  251-253. 


Slemmer,  Lieut.  A.  J.,  376. 
Slidell,  Senator,  329. 
Slidell,  Mrs.,  329. 
Smith,  General  C.  F.,  214. 
Smith,  General  Persifer  F.,  228. 
Smith,  General  W.  F.,  446. 
Spencer,  John  C.,  36,  37. 
Stanton,  Edwin  M.,  411,  412. 
Stewart,  Col.  Jasper,  176. 
Sukely,  Surgeon  George,  261. 
Sumner,    General   E.  V.,   448,    457, 

470. 

Suydam,  Col.  C.  C.,  460,  491. 
Swartwout,  Samuel,  15. 

Taylor,  Dr.,  252,253. 

Taylor,  Col.  Frank,  288. 

Taylor,  Zachary,  145-157. 

Terry,  General  O.  H.,  436. 

Tevis,  Major  Carroll,  487. 

Thayer,  Col.  Sylvanus,  69,  190-192. 

Thomas,  George  II.,  166-169,  176- 

180,  193. 

Thompson,  Jacob" R.,  338. 
Thorn,  Col.  Herman,  79. 
Thourot,  Lieut. -Col.,  476. 
Tidball,  General,  202. 
Totten,  General  Joseph  G.,  69,  155. 
Toucey,  Isaac,  338. 
Trowbridge,  William  P.,  202. 
Twiggs,  General,  205. 
Tyler,  General  Daniel,  432-436. 

Upton,  General  Emory,  434. 

Van  Buren,  John,  36,  69,  116. 

Van  Buren,  Martin,  36,  37,  69,  105- 

108,  I2T,  129,  137,  138,  145. 
Van  Buren,  Dr.  W.  H.,  354. 
Van  Buren,  Willie,  355. 
Van  Rensselaer,  Lieut-Col.,  104,  122. 
Van  Vliet,  Maj. -General  S.,  176,  179. 
Vinton,  Captain  John  R.,  155. 
Vogdes,  General,  375,  377- 

Wadsworth,  General  James,  437. 
Wales,  Prince  of,  331-334. 
Ward,  Samuel,  70-74. 
Warner,  Rev.  Thos.,  77-84. 
Washburne,  E.  B.,  217. 
Washington,  George,  45. 


Index. 


515 


Webb,  General,  446. 

Webster,  Daniel,  11-15,  36,  37,  147- 

149,  247. 

Wellington,  Duke  of,  12,  13,  128. 
Wessels,  H.  W.,  467. 
White,  Lieutenant,  266. 
Wilkinson,  Commander,  102-105. 
Williams,  Rev.  Albert,  232. 
Williams,  Roger,  179. 
Williamson,  R.  S.,  202. 
Wilson,  Samuel,  304,  305. 


Winder,  Captain,  266. 

Wolseley,  General  Garnet,  207. 

Woodbury,  Levi,  109. 

Wool,   General  John    E.,    123,  184, 

250,  251,  431. 
Worth,  General,   123,   135,  153-159, 

170,  188. 
Wright,     Col.    Geo.    H.,    266-287, 

420,  421. 

Wright,  Silas,  147. 
Wyse,  Lieutenant,  168, 169. 


MESSRS.  CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

publish,  under  the  general  title  of 

THE  CAMPAIGNS  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR, 

A  Series  of  volumes,  contributed  by  a  number  of  leading 
actors  in  and  students  of  the  great  conflict  of  1861-65,  with 
a  view  to  bringing  together,  for  the  first  time,  a  full  and 
authoritative  military  history  of  the  suppression  of  the 
Rebellion. 

The  final  and  exhaustive  form  of  this  great  narrative,  in  which  every 
doubt  shall  be  settled  and  every  detail  covered,  may  be  a  possibility 
only  of  the  future.  But  it  is  a  matter  for  surprise  that  twenty  years 
after  the  beginning  of  the  Rebellion,  and  when  a  whole  generation 
has  grown  up  needing  such  knowledge,  there  is  no  authority  which  is 
at  the  same  time  of  the  highest  rank,  intelligible  and  trustworthy,  and 
to  which  a  reader  can  turn  for  any  general  view  of  the  field. 

The  many  reports,  regimental  histories,  memoirs,  and  other  materi 
als  of  value  for  special  passages,  require,  for  their  intelligent  reading, 
an  ability  to  combine  and  proportion  them  which  the  ordinary  reader 
does  not  possess.  There  have  been  no  attempts  at  general  histories 
which  have  supplied  this  satisfactorily  to  any  large  part  of  the  public. 
Undoubtedly  there  has  been  no  such  narrative  as  would  be  especially 
welcome  to  men  of  the  new  generation,  and  would  be  valued  by  a  very 
great  class  of  readers  ; — and  there  has  seemed  to  be  great  danger  that 
the  time  would  be  allowed  to  pass  when  it  would  be  possible  to  give 
to  such  a  work  the  vividness  and  accuracy  that  come  from  personal 
recollection.  These  facts  led  to  the  conception  of  the  present  work. 

From  every  department  of  the  Government,  from  the  officers  of  the 
army,  and  from  a  great  number  of  custodians  of  records  and  special  infor 
mation  everywhere,  both  authors  and  publishers  have  received  every  aid 
that  could  be  asked  in  this  undertaking ;  and  in  announcing  the  issue  of 
the  work  the  publishers  take  this  occasion  to  convey  the  thanks  which 
the  authors  have  had  individual  opportunities  to  express  elsewhere. 

The  volumes  are  duodecimos  of  about  250  pages  each, 
illustrated  by  maps  and  plans  prepared  under  the  direction 
of  the  authors. 

The  price  of  each  volume  is  $1.00. 


The  following  volumes  are  now  ready  : 

I.— The  OutbreaJc  of  Rebellion.  By  JOHN  G.  NICOLAY, 
Esq.,  Private  Secretary  to  President  Lincoln ;  late  Consul- 
General  to  France,  etc. 

A  preliminary  volume,  describing  the  opening  of  the  war,  and   covering  th» 
period  from  the  election  of  Lincoln  to  the  end  of  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run. 


//. — From  Fort  Henry  to  Corinth.  By  the  Hon.  M. 
F.  FORCE,  Justice  of  the  Superior  Court,  Cincinnatti;  late 
Brigadier-General  and  Bvt.  Maj.  Gen'l,  U.S.V.,  commanding 
First  Division,  I7th  Corps:  in  1862,  Lieut.  Colonel  of  the 
2Oth  Ohio,  commanding  the  regiment  at  Shiloh ;  Treasurer  of 
the  Society  of  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee. 

The  narrative  of  events  in  the  West  from  the  Summer  of  1861  to  May,  1863; 
tovering  the  capture  of  Fts.  Henry  and  Donelson,  the  Battle  of  Shiloh,  etc.,  etc. 

I. II. — The  Peninsula.  By  ALEXANDER  S.  WEBB,  LL.D., 
President  of  the  College  of  the  City  of  New  York :  Assistant 
Chief  of  Artillery,  Army  of  the  Potomac,  1861-62 ;  Inspector 
General  Fifth  Army  Corps;  General  commanding  2d  Div., 
2d  Corps;  Major  General  Assigned,  and  Chief  of  Staff,  Army 
of  the  Potomac. 

The  history  of  McClellan's  Peninsula  Campaign,  from  his  appointment  to  th« 
?nd  of  the  Seven  Days'  Fight. 

4V.— The  Army  under  Pope.  By  JOHN  C.  ROPES,  Esq., 
of  the  Military  Historical  Society  of  Massachusetts,  the  Massa 
chusetts  Historical  Society,  etc. 

From  the  appointment  of  Pope  to  command  the  Army  of  Virginia,  to  the  appoint 
ment  of  McClellan  to  the  general  command  in  September,  1862 

V.—The  Antietam  and  Fredericksbura.  By  FRANCIS 
WINTHROP  PALFREY,  Bvt.  Brigadier  Gen'l,  U.S.V.,  and  form 
erly  Colonel  2Oth  Mass.  Infantry ;  Lieut.  Col.  of  the  2Oth 
Massachusetts  at  the  Battle  of  the  Antietam;  Member  of 
the  Military  Historical  Society  of  Massachusetts,  of  the  Massa 
chusetts  Historical  Society,  etc. 

From  the  appointment  of  McClellan  to  the  general  command,  September,  i862,"ta 
the  end  of  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg. 

VI.— Chancellor  sville  and  Gettysburg.  By  ABNER 
DOUBLEDAY,  Bvt.  Maj.  Gen'l,  U.S.A.,  and  Maj.  Gen'l, 
U.S.V. ;  commanding  the  First  Corps  at  Gettysburg,  etc. 

From  the  appointment  of  Hooker,  through  the  campaigns  of  Chancellorsville  and 
Gettysburg,  to  the  retreat  of  Lee  after  the  latter  battle. 

VII.— The  Armn  of  the  Cumberland.  By  HENRY  M. 
CIST,  Brevet  Brig.  Gen'l  U.S.V.  ;  A.A.G.  on  the  staff  of 
Major  Gen'l  Rosecrans,  and  afterwards  on  that  of  Major  Gen'l 
Thomas  ;  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Society  of  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland. 

From  the  formation  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  to  the  end  of  the  battles  al 
Chattanooga,  November,  1863. 


VIII. — The  Mississippi.  By  FRANCIS  VINTON  GREENE, 
Lieut,  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  Army  ;  late  Military  Attache  to  the 
U.  S.  Legation  in  St.  Petersburg  ;  Author  of  "  The  Russian 
Army  and  its  Campaigns  in  Turkey  in  1877-78,"  and  of 
44  Army  Life  in  Russia." 

An  account  of  the  operations — especially  at  Vicksburg  and  Port  Hudson — by 
which  the  Mississippi  River  and  its  shores  were  restored  to  the  control  of  the  Union. 

IX. — Atlanta.  By  the  Hon.  JACOB  D.  Cox,  Ex- Governor  of 
Ohio ;  late  Secretary  of  the  Interior  of  the  United  States ; 
Major  General  U.  S.V.,  commanding  Twenty- third  Corps 
during  the  campaigns  of  Atlanta  and  the  Carolinas,  etc.,  etc. 

From  Sherman's  first  advance  into  Georgia  in  May,  1864,  to  the  beginning  of 
the  March  to  the  Sea. 

X.—Tfie  March  to  the  Sea— Franklin  and  Nashville. 

By  the  Hon.  JACOB  D.  Cox. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  March  to  the  Sea  to  the  surrender  of  Johnston- 
including  also  the  operations  of  Thomas  in  Tennessee. 

XI.— The  Shenandoah  Valley  in  1864.  The  Cam 
paign  of  Sheridan.  By  GEORGE  E.  POND,  Esq.,  Asso 
ciate  Editor  of  the  Army  and  Navy  Journal. 

XII.—  The  Virginia  Campaign  of  >(>4  and  >65.  TJte 
Army  of  the  Potomac  and  Ihe  Army  of  the 
James.  By  ANDREW  A.  HUMPHREYS,  Brigadier  General 
and  Bvt.  Major  General,  U.  S.  A.  ;  late  Chief  of  Engineers; 
Chief  of  Staff,  Army  of  the  Potomac,  1863-64;  commanding 
Second  Corps,  i86/|.-'65,  etc.,  etc. 

Statistical  Record  of  the  Armies  of  the  United 
States.  By  FREDERICK  PHISTERER,  late  Captain  U.  S.  A. 

This  Record  includes  the  figures  of  the  quotas  and  men  actually  furnished  by 
all  States  ;  a  list  of  all  organizations  mustered  into  the  U.  S.  service;  the  strength 
of  the  army  at  various  periods  ;  its  organization  in  armies,  corps,  etc.;  the  divisions 
of  the  country  into  departments,  etc.;  chronological  list  of  all  engagements,  with  the 
losses  in  each  ;  tabulated  statements  of  all  losses  in  the  war,  with  the  causes  of 
death,  etc.;  full  lists  of  all  general  officers,  and  an  immense  amount  of  other  valuable 
statistical  matter  relating  to  the  War. 


The  complete  Set,  thirteen  volumes,  in  a  bcx.     Price,  $12.50 
Single  volumes,       ......        i.co 

***  The  above  books  for  sale  by  all  booksellers,  or  will  be  sent^  fast-paid, 
•upon  receipt  of  j>rice,  by 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS,  PUBLISHERS, 

743  AND  745  BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK. 


NOW    COMPLETE. 


In  three  volumes,  22mo,  with  Maps  and  Plans. 


THE 

Navy  in  the  Civil  War 

^pHE  WORK  OF  THE  NAVY  in  the  suppression  of  the  Rebellion  was 
-*•  certainly  not  less  remarkable  than  that  of  the  Army.  The  same 
forces  which  developed  from  our  volunteers  some  of  the  finest  bodies  of 
soldiers  in  military  history,  were  shown  quite  as  wonderfully  in  the  creation 
of  a  Navy,  which  was  to  cope  for  the  first  time  with  the  problems  of  modern 
warfare. 

The  facts  that  the  Civil  War  was  the  first  great  conflict  in  which  steam 
was  the  motive  power  of  ships  ;  that  it  was  marked  by  the  introduction  of 
the  ironclad ;  and  that  it  saw,  for  the  first  time,  the  attempt  to  blockade 
such  a  vast  length  of  hostile  coast — will  make  it  an  epoch  for  the  techinal 
student  everywhere. 

But  while  the  Army  has  been  fortunate  in  the  number  and  character  of 
those  who  have  contributed  to  its  written  history,  the  Navy  has  been  com 
paratively  without  annalists.  During  a  recent  course  of  publications  on 
the  military  operations  of  the  war,  the  publishers  were  in  constant  receipt 
of  letters  pointing  out  this  fact,  and  expressing  the  wish  that  a  complete 
naval  history  of  the  four  years  might  be  written  by  competent  hands.  An 
effort  made  in  this  direction  resulted  in  the  cordial  adoption  and  carrying 
out  of  plans  by  which  Messrs.  CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS  are 
enabled  to  announce  the  completion  of  a  work  of  the  highest  authority  and 
interest,  giving  the  whole  narrative  of  Naval  Operations  from  1861  to  1865. 

I.    THE    BLOCKADE    AND    THE    CRUISERS.— By    Pro 
fessor  J.  RUSSELL  SOLEY,  U.  S.  Navy. 

II.    THE     ATLANTIC     COAST.— By     Rear-Admiral     DANIEL 
AMMEN,  U.  S.  Navy. 

III.    THE    GULF  AND    INLAND  WATERS.  — By  Commander 

A.  T.  MAHAN,  U.  S.  Navy. 

Uniform  with  "The  Campaigns  of  the  Civil  War,"  with  maps 
and  diagrams  prepared  under  the  direction  of  the  Authors. 

Price   per  Volume,  SJ.OQ. 

CHARLES   SCRIBNER'S   SONS,   Publishers, 

743   &   745  Broadway,  New   York. 


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